Rachel Mogan McIntosh joins us to discuss her debut memoir, a candid and comical love letter to the imperfect reality of family life and France.
Pardon My French is a candid and comical love letter to the imperfect reality of family life and France, with three valuable lessons for overcoming adversity woven through the pages: make home a beautiful nest, lean into the tough lessons, and, most importantly, look for the comedy in everything.
When Rachael and her husband Keith decided to pack up their three small children – Mabel, 6; Alex, 9; and Tabitha, 10 – and move to rural France for a year, they could not have imagined just how foreign everyday life would feel. From muddling through every interaction with a terrible grasp on the French language and having to develop a whole new system for grocery shopping, to traipsing the school-run four times every day and learning the local status quo when socialising, Rachael’s family were pushed to their limits. Some days, everybody cried and ate their feelings with almond croissants just to soothe the ache of homesickness.
About the author
Rachael Mogan McIntosh is a mum of three, crisis counsellor and community trainer from the south coast of NSW. Her writing has appeared in publications across Australia, France and the USA. Rachael loves books, baths, coffee, podcasts, TV and Terry’s Chocolate Orange; consuming them simultaneously whenever possible. Pardon My French is her first book.