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Finding Myself in Britain
Think Michele Guinness meets Bill Bryson. Finding Myself In Britain is a witty, insightful look at faith, identity and the quirks of British life by a stranger-turned-friend. With a conversational style, this book explores rooting our faith in Christ to weather any storm and flourish in the sunshine. It helps readers look at Britain and its culture with fresh eyes while finding Jesus in the midst of it. "You don't have to be an American to enjoy this book. Or British. Or a vicar's wife. You just have to be somebody who has found themselves in an unusual place, felt a bit out of their depth, and wondered where God was in all of that. That's most of us, I think." Bob Hartman.
288 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2015
13 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Amy Boucher Pye
62 books43 followersAmy is a writer, speaker, retreat leader, and spiritual director. She's the author of six books, including Transforming Love and 7 Ways to Pray. She writes devotional thoughts for several publications, including the globally recognized Our Daily Bread. She received her MA in Christian spirituality from the University of London.
She's an American who has lived in the UK for over two decades, married to a vicar, as featured in her first book, Finding Myself in Britain. She and her family live in North London. Find her at amyboucherpye.com and on socials.
She's an American who has lived in the UK for over two decades, married to a vicar, as featured in her first book, Finding Myself in Britain. She and her family live in North London. Find her at amyboucherpye.com and on socials.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
October 17, 2017
(3.5) The author is an Anglican vicar’s wife originally from Minnesota. I don’t remember how I heard about this book, but I knew I had to get hold of a copy to compare our experiences of figuring out how best to live as an American in England. Now, she’s a whole lot more religious than I am, so when she talks about it being okay to feel displaced and lonely on this earth because we have a true heavenly home to look forward to…nah, that’s no comfort for me. So the more devotional portions of the book (including some truly awful poems) didn’t mean much to me. But many of her everyday observations did strike a chord.
The book follows a rough chronological pattern from autumn through summer, pausing to consider the holidays and routines that make up our daily lives and often differ – if only a tiny bit – from one country to another. Tea, the weather, people’s stereotypical reserve: these are hardly unexamined aspects of the national character, but she writes about them with humor and grace, seeking to understand rather than belittle. The thirty-plus pages of recipes seem a bit excessive, but there’s some nice-looking stuff in there that will appeal to Brits unfamiliar with Americans’ Thanksgiving and other holiday food traditions.
The book follows a rough chronological pattern from autumn through summer, pausing to consider the holidays and routines that make up our daily lives and often differ – if only a tiny bit – from one country to another. Tea, the weather, people’s stereotypical reserve: these are hardly unexamined aspects of the national character, but she writes about them with humor and grace, seeking to understand rather than belittle. The thirty-plus pages of recipes seem a bit excessive, but there’s some nice-looking stuff in there that will appeal to Brits unfamiliar with Americans’ Thanksgiving and other holiday food traditions.
October 3, 2015
Finding Myself In Britain by Amy Boucher Pye is a wonderful book - charming, chatty, anecdotal and amusing. And I was blessed to receive a copy.
Amy is an American, married to an English vicar and living in London. The book is an insight into her life, as she compares life and the customs in Britain, with life as she had known it in the States.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and loved the way the chapters were divided up over a year, which began in September and ended with a Summer holiday a year later. Each chapter evoked memories within me - 'More Tea Vicar' had me instantly transported back to being four years old and drinking tea (sometimes slurping out of the saucer!) and dunking ginger nuts, at my Nanny's house. Amy has a marvellous 'chatty' style of writing, that has the effect of making the reader forget they are reading a book. It feels more like reading a letter from a dear friend, and therefore has the power to draw out memories from deep inside the reader. In fact, just reading the title stirred up very vivid memories for me, with 'The Day They Buried Diana'. I was overcome with the immense feeling of sadness, which was both personal and part of the national grief experienced at that time.
The reader is also being educated whilst reading. Not only in American customs, such as the back ground to Thanksgiving, but also English events - how the Ashes name evolved.
Amy's easy style of posing questions to the reader, added to the feeling of intimacy between reader and writer. It also forced the reader to examine themselves to come up with answers to these questions. And there were suggestions as to how one could improve the lot of others and spread kindness and love, such as in the chapter 'Easter Eggs'.
As an English woman reading the book, I found the differences between the British and the Americans fascinating. There were ways of behaving that I see as perfectly 'normal', that I did not realise were not universal but unique to the British.
The chapter that impacted me the most was 'We Will Remember Them'. As a historian I was studied both World War I and II in depth, but the personal accounts just struck a chord in my heart.
Amy peppers the book with asides (in italics) to the reader. I found this delightful and it made me think of both Eric Morecambe and Miranda Hart as they engage the audience personally by talking into the camera - a device that works well when transmuted onto paper.
I urge you to buy a copy of Finding Myself In Britain, you will not be disappointed. As you begin to read, it feels less like reading a book and more like embarking on a twelve month friendship - personal details about NicTheVic, Pyelot Boy and Cutie Pye Girl only enhance this feeling. But as well as personal stories, you will find that your faith is built up, as details of God at work, and simple but profound observations on Jesus, will go straight to your heart.
It's the perfect Christmas gift - or just the perfect gift for anyone, any time - I shall certainly be buying several copies to give to my family and friends this Christmas.
Amy is an American, married to an English vicar and living in London. The book is an insight into her life, as she compares life and the customs in Britain, with life as she had known it in the States.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and loved the way the chapters were divided up over a year, which began in September and ended with a Summer holiday a year later. Each chapter evoked memories within me - 'More Tea Vicar' had me instantly transported back to being four years old and drinking tea (sometimes slurping out of the saucer!) and dunking ginger nuts, at my Nanny's house. Amy has a marvellous 'chatty' style of writing, that has the effect of making the reader forget they are reading a book. It feels more like reading a letter from a dear friend, and therefore has the power to draw out memories from deep inside the reader. In fact, just reading the title stirred up very vivid memories for me, with 'The Day They Buried Diana'. I was overcome with the immense feeling of sadness, which was both personal and part of the national grief experienced at that time.
The reader is also being educated whilst reading. Not only in American customs, such as the back ground to Thanksgiving, but also English events - how the Ashes name evolved.
Amy's easy style of posing questions to the reader, added to the feeling of intimacy between reader and writer. It also forced the reader to examine themselves to come up with answers to these questions. And there were suggestions as to how one could improve the lot of others and spread kindness and love, such as in the chapter 'Easter Eggs'.
As an English woman reading the book, I found the differences between the British and the Americans fascinating. There were ways of behaving that I see as perfectly 'normal', that I did not realise were not universal but unique to the British.
The chapter that impacted me the most was 'We Will Remember Them'. As a historian I was studied both World War I and II in depth, but the personal accounts just struck a chord in my heart.
Amy peppers the book with asides (in italics) to the reader. I found this delightful and it made me think of both Eric Morecambe and Miranda Hart as they engage the audience personally by talking into the camera - a device that works well when transmuted onto paper.
I urge you to buy a copy of Finding Myself In Britain, you will not be disappointed. As you begin to read, it feels less like reading a book and more like embarking on a twelve month friendship - personal details about NicTheVic, Pyelot Boy and Cutie Pye Girl only enhance this feeling. But as well as personal stories, you will find that your faith is built up, as details of God at work, and simple but profound observations on Jesus, will go straight to your heart.
It's the perfect Christmas gift - or just the perfect gift for anyone, any time - I shall certainly be buying several copies to give to my family and friends this Christmas.
October 19, 2015
Finding Myself In Britain by Amy Boucher Pye is a wonderful book - charming, chatty, anecdotal and amusing. And I was blessed to receive a copy.
Amy is an American, married to an English vicar and living in London. The book is an insight into her life, as she compares life and the customs in Britain, with life as she had known it in the States.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and loved the way the chapters were divided up over a year, which began in September and ended with a Summer holiday a year later. Each chapter evoked memories within me - 'More Tea Vicar' had me instantly transported back to being four years old and drinking tea (sometimes slurping out of the saucer!) and dunking ginger nuts, at my Nanny's house. Amy has a marvellous 'chatty' style of writing, that has the effect of making the reader forget they are reading a book. It feels more like reading a letter from a dear friend, and therefore has the power to draw out memories from deep inside the reader. In fact, just reading the title stirred up very vivid memories for me, with 'The Day They Buried Diana'. I was overcome with the immense feeling of sadness, which was both personal and part of the national grief experienced at that time.
The reader is also being educated whilst reading. Not only in American customs, such as the back ground to Thanksgiving, but also English events - how the Ashes name evolved.
Amy's easy style of posing questions to the reader, added to the feeling of intimacy between reader and writer. It also forced the reader to examine themselves to come up with answers to these questions. And there were suggestions as to how one could improve the lot of others and spread kindness and love, such as in the chapter 'Easter Eggs'.
As an English woman reading the book, I found the differences between the British and the Americans fascinating. There were ways of behaving that I see as perfectly 'normal', that I did not realise were not universal but unique to the British.
The chapter that impacted me the most was 'We Will Remember Them'. As a historian I was studied both World War I and II in depth, but the personal accounts just struck a chord in my heart.
Amy peppers the book with asides (in italics) to the reader. I found this delightful and it made me think of both Eric Morecambe and Miranda Hart as they engage the audience personally by talking into the camera - a device that works well when transmuted onto paper.
I urge you to buy a copy of Finding Myself In Britain, you will not be disappointed. As you begin to read, it feels less like reading a book and more like embarking on a twelve month friendship - personal details about NicTheVic, Pyelot Boy and Cutie Pye Girl only enhance this feeling. But as well as personal stories, you will find that your faith is built up, as details of God at work, and simple but profound observations on Jesus, will go straight to your heart.
It's the perfect Christmas gift - or just the perfect gift for anyone, any time - I shall certainly be buying several copies to give to my family and friends this Christmas.
Amy is an American, married to an English vicar and living in London. The book is an insight into her life, as she compares life and the customs in Britain, with life as she had known it in the States.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and loved the way the chapters were divided up over a year, which began in September and ended with a Summer holiday a year later. Each chapter evoked memories within me - 'More Tea Vicar' had me instantly transported back to being four years old and drinking tea (sometimes slurping out of the saucer!) and dunking ginger nuts, at my Nanny's house. Amy has a marvellous 'chatty' style of writing, that has the effect of making the reader forget they are reading a book. It feels more like reading a letter from a dear friend, and therefore has the power to draw out memories from deep inside the reader. In fact, just reading the title stirred up very vivid memories for me, with 'The Day They Buried Diana'. I was overcome with the immense feeling of sadness, which was both personal and part of the national grief experienced at that time.
The reader is also being educated whilst reading. Not only in American customs, such as the back ground to Thanksgiving, but also English events - how the Ashes name evolved.
Amy's easy style of posing questions to the reader, added to the feeling of intimacy between reader and writer. It also forced the reader to examine themselves to come up with answers to these questions. And there were suggestions as to how one could improve the lot of others and spread kindness and love, such as in the chapter 'Easter Eggs'.
As an English woman reading the book, I found the differences between the British and the Americans fascinating. There were ways of behaving that I see as perfectly 'normal', that I did not realise were not universal but unique to the British.
The chapter that impacted me the most was 'We Will Remember Them'. As a historian I was studied both World War I and II in depth, but the personal accounts just struck a chord in my heart.
Amy peppers the book with asides (in italics) to the reader. I found this delightful and it made me think of both Eric Morecambe and Miranda Hart as they engage the audience personally by talking into the camera - a device that works well when transmuted onto paper.
I urge you to buy a copy of Finding Myself In Britain, you will not be disappointed. As you begin to read, it feels less like reading a book and more like embarking on a twelve month friendship - personal details about NicTheVic, Pyelot Boy and Cutie Pye Girl only enhance this feeling. But as well as personal stories, you will find that your faith is built up, as details of God at work, and simple but profound observations on Jesus, will go straight to your heart.
It's the perfect Christmas gift - or just the perfect gift for anyone, any time - I shall certainly be buying several copies to give to my family and friends this Christmas.
October 1, 2015
'Finding Myself in Britain' is in part a memoir of Amy Boucher Pye’s transition from single career woman living in Washington DC to vicar’s wife, living in a series of poorly-plumbed vicarages in England. In places it reads a bit like Bill Bryson, as she reflects on her observations of us Brits and our strange customs and social mores.
More than just a memoir, though, 'Finding Myself in Britain' is partly a devotional walk through the Christian calendar, beginning in the autumn as that, almost more than January, is often a time of new beginnings. It is also the season when she met the greasy-haired English ordinand in a ‘sweater vest’ who was to become her husband.
As Amy learned the traditions of both her new country and her new church family, she found herself learning, in a whole new way, what Jesus meant when he said “whoever loses his life for my sake will find it”.
A great read for anyone who loves England, loves America, loves understanding themselves and others better, or has ever felt that sense of being a fish out of water. Highly recommended.
More than just a memoir, though, 'Finding Myself in Britain' is partly a devotional walk through the Christian calendar, beginning in the autumn as that, almost more than January, is often a time of new beginnings. It is also the season when she met the greasy-haired English ordinand in a ‘sweater vest’ who was to become her husband.
As Amy learned the traditions of both her new country and her new church family, she found herself learning, in a whole new way, what Jesus meant when he said “whoever loses his life for my sake will find it”.
A great read for anyone who loves England, loves America, loves understanding themselves and others better, or has ever felt that sense of being a fish out of water. Highly recommended.
December 17, 2015
Every now and again it is a good thing to take a look at our culture through the eyes of an outsider – and Amy Boucher Pye does just this in her book on British society. As an American who married an English vicar, she has a fresh perspective on the things we take for granted – such as our obsession with tea, our relationship with the royal family and remembrance day, our approach to Christmas. It follows through a year and has snippets of her story mixed with fun miscellany about our society, and a few spiritual reflections on being a foreigner in a new culture.
It is a thoroughly enjoyable trip through some of our traditions and cultures, and made me reflect on how we treat those of a different culture, and particularly Americans. Her writing is conversational and an easy, pleasurable read, and this is exactly the kind of thing that you would read (ironically enough) whilst drinking a cup of tea – whimsical and thought-provoking in equal measure. (And look out for my name in the acknowledgements…) One for Brits, Anglophiles, and anyone who has ever lived abroad.
It is a thoroughly enjoyable trip through some of our traditions and cultures, and made me reflect on how we treat those of a different culture, and particularly Americans. Her writing is conversational and an easy, pleasurable read, and this is exactly the kind of thing that you would read (ironically enough) whilst drinking a cup of tea – whimsical and thought-provoking in equal measure. (And look out for my name in the acknowledgements…) One for Brits, Anglophiles, and anyone who has ever lived abroad.
August 2, 2017
In the pages of this book you may find not only the humorous anecdotes about odd English ways seen through the eyes of an American, and tales of US/UK culture clash, as the cover suggests, but a poignant and often moving account of how we define our identity. As I read through the book Amy's account of her experiences made me start to rethink who I am. How much of us is cultural conditioning, how much sinful human nature, how much our authentic personalities? For an English reader, Amy guides us through various social situations we take for granted and makes us see them with fresh eyes; for instance, the British 'unwritten law' of never offering up your full name to a stranger you have just begun the first exchanges with; but to wait until you have developed a certain level of intimacy. How ludicrous this seems, when viewed through the eyes of someone from a different culture! There were many very moving parts of this book, but I was particularly struck by Amy's emotional response to reading the Easter service sheet from her home church in Minnesota, and also by her words about her "campaign" to return permanently to the US, and the message she believes God sent her, to relinquish that campaign. Personally I was very conscious of Amy's resilience and courage, having a small sense of what she might have felt to be in "exile", from my own experience of emigrating to Australia, living there for four and a half years, then returning to live in England. I must finish with a quote from the book: "For each of us, the key is to be where we are, and to be present with God, even though we have bits of our heart lodged in different places in the world." How profoundly relevant this is in our times, when millions of people have been displaced from their home countries, desperate to seek new lives of safety many thousands of miles away, but knowing bits of their hearts are lodged in other places and mostly in their own place of origin.
January 14, 2016
A really interesting look at how Amy adapted to life as the wife of an English vicar - the ups and downs, and the way in which her own faith sustained her, and was sometimes challenged.
I very much liked the inclusion of her own family recipes as well.
Although - if you read your reviews on Goodreads, Amy - I think it very sad that you find British stuffing dry! You need to have a good pork based one- M&S pork and chestnut goes really well with turkey :)
I very much liked the inclusion of her own family recipes as well.
Although - if you read your reviews on Goodreads, Amy - I think it very sad that you find British stuffing dry! You need to have a good pork based one- M&S pork and chestnut goes really well with turkey :)
February 18, 2017
Book received from NetGalley.
This book is an autobiography of a woman who was born and grew up in America and as a young adult moved to the UK. She met and married a man who was studying to be a Vicar in the Anglican church. From the first chapter, you can see how marrying a man of God and moving to a new country changed her. She starts out as a fairly selfish young woman who cried when her boyfriend, the Vicar, didn't propose when she thought he should have. He ended up being overwhelmed and decided to think and pray on it again. She ends up realizing what God wanted for her and used her marriage and moving to a new country to make the changes she needed to become the person she felt God wanted her to be. I enjoyed it, it was a good book, not a great one but I can see where reading it would help some people to realize they're not alone.
This book is an autobiography of a woman who was born and grew up in America and as a young adult moved to the UK. She met and married a man who was studying to be a Vicar in the Anglican church. From the first chapter, you can see how marrying a man of God and moving to a new country changed her. She starts out as a fairly selfish young woman who cried when her boyfriend, the Vicar, didn't propose when she thought he should have. He ended up being overwhelmed and decided to think and pray on it again. She ends up realizing what God wanted for her and used her marriage and moving to a new country to make the changes she needed to become the person she felt God wanted her to be. I enjoyed it, it was a good book, not a great one but I can see where reading it would help some people to realize they're not alone.
April 4, 2021
This was a lovely little book, somewhat anecdotal in nature and easy to pick up and put down. It is essentially the story of a young woman's journey from mid-western American girl to wife of a vicar in the Anglican Church, transplanting from the US to the UK. Amy shares wonderful stories of the adjustment of moving across the pond, both funny and heartwarming, proving that we really are "two nations separated by a common language". Woven into her stories is her own spiritual growth and her love of her family. A perfect book for both Anglophiles and Christians.
June 13, 2018
I love this book! It is honest, uplifting and beautifully written. The author shares her experiences of moving to Britain to live from the US, being married to a vicar and lots of aspects of life in Britain. I love how she weaves in some wonderful biblical teaching around her lighthearted, warm and often amusing accounts of what it is like to live here and all the plain daft thing us Brits do. She relays it all with a warm voice, having grown fond of the place and the customs, while still missing her home in the States. What I really like is how Amy writes much about what home actually means, and how we are all searching for the place we belong. As Christians, we believe that our real homeland is heaven, where we will be with God in eternity, and we are always longing for that in our deepest beings. This book brings out something of that while delivering these truths in a winsome and compelling way.
I love a bit of Bill Bryson and there are parts which remind me of his writing about Blighty - the British penchant for tea and queues, for example. It made me laugh and smile and cry a little bit too.
Heartily recommended.
I love a bit of Bill Bryson and there are parts which remind me of his writing about Blighty - the British penchant for tea and queues, for example. It made me laugh and smile and cry a little bit too.
Heartily recommended.
October 13, 2016
Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book is warm and lighthearted. It reminded me of a letter to a friend or a conversation between two people because the writing style flows so easily and is written so well.
With everything going on about how people treat each other recently I think this is a great book to challenge oneself on how you see new people from different countries. And it is great to see our culture and how it comes across to a non native British person.
Amy is an American who is married to an English vicar. She offers a fresh prospective to every day events and occupancies that we take for granted. Like our obsession with tea. It is broken up into sections and covers things like the royal family, remembeance day and Christmas for example. It is spread out throughout a year and has lots of snippets of information on British events and culture some of which enlightened me like the ashes. It also has peices of her life and snippets of faith entertwined as well.
This book is warm and lighthearted. It reminded me of a letter to a friend or a conversation between two people because the writing style flows so easily and is written so well.
With everything going on about how people treat each other recently I think this is a great book to challenge oneself on how you see new people from different countries. And it is great to see our culture and how it comes across to a non native British person.
Amy is an American who is married to an English vicar. She offers a fresh prospective to every day events and occupancies that we take for granted. Like our obsession with tea. It is broken up into sections and covers things like the royal family, remembeance day and Christmas for example. It is spread out throughout a year and has lots of snippets of information on British events and culture some of which enlightened me like the ashes. It also has peices of her life and snippets of faith entertwined as well.
April 10, 2016
I received a copy of this book at the recent Christian Resources Together retreat, and what a treat it was to read! As a (former) vicar's wife and a relative newcomer to the UK, I could relate to so many of the anecdotes and experiences described in this book.
The format follows the seasons of the church and the author offers insightful and often humorous comment on the differences between her native US and the UK in which she finds herself. She is honest about the difficulties she faced, living in a new culture - yes, we all speak English (after a fashion!), but there are still considerable differences in culture and nuance, and sometimes the gap takes one by surprise - and honest also about her own journey in faith.
This book is immensely readable, whether you're a churchgoer or not. Natives may be surprised (and amused) by some of the observations; transplants like myself will have many 'yes!' moments. Highly recommended book.
The format follows the seasons of the church and the author offers insightful and often humorous comment on the differences between her native US and the UK in which she finds herself. She is honest about the difficulties she faced, living in a new culture - yes, we all speak English (after a fashion!), but there are still considerable differences in culture and nuance, and sometimes the gap takes one by surprise - and honest also about her own journey in faith.
This book is immensely readable, whether you're a churchgoer or not. Natives may be surprised (and amused) by some of the observations; transplants like myself will have many 'yes!' moments. Highly recommended book.
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June 26, 2020***VERY ENJOYABLE NON-FICTION READ*** This story truly feels like you are sitting down to tea with a friend, from time to time, just doing life, whether over the phone or at her table. She shares her experiences about England and transitioning from America to a new way of life. She carefully weaves her faith into the story as well. If that interests you, it's worth a read!
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June 14, 2022I love this book by Amy Boucher Pye. The main reason I love it is because she met her future husband over here in the U. S. while he was studying for ordination in the Church of England. He was from Britain and she from the United States. She talks about the cultural differences that they encountered because of growing up in different countries. The books speaks to me because I am from England and my prospective husband at the time was from the United States. He was also in the ministry. I was brought up in the Church of England and he had more of a Pentecostal background. We met in the early 70s where we were working with the Jesus People in London. There are many challenges faced when you marry into a different culture. I loved Amy sharing about how she missed her own family here in the U.S. I can relate so much to that because I miss my family in England, still to this day almost 48 years after our marriage. Anyway. Amy.... your book has been an encouragement to me. Thank you for writing it.
April 4, 2018
As a recent London transplant, Pye's novel resonated with me. I'm working in Christian publishing and was gifted the novel by a thoughtful coworker. 'I found myself' laughing through familiar antics and commiserating during her pitfalls.
After teaching in Asia and Eastern Europe, I was surprised to face a language barrier in the UK. At times English feels foreign as well as finding that 'Boots' isn't a shoe store. Like Alice in Wonderland, things are 'curiouser and curiouser' until you find your no longer falling down the rabbit hole. Pye delivers a 'cuppa' of laugh that soothes this expat's soul.
After teaching in Asia and Eastern Europe, I was surprised to face a language barrier in the UK. At times English feels foreign as well as finding that 'Boots' isn't a shoe store. Like Alice in Wonderland, things are 'curiouser and curiouser' until you find your no longer falling down the rabbit hole. Pye delivers a 'cuppa' of laugh that soothes this expat's soul.
August 4, 2020
In Finding Myself in Britain: Our Search for Faith, Home, & True Identity, Amy Boucher Pye openly shares the ups and downs of what it’s like to grow up in the United States, fall in love and marry a Brit and move to England as the vicar’s wife. One minor niggle: Although she footnotes explanations of many British words and expressions, several are missed (lorry, twig, stodge, shattered, scrummy, solicitor and dosh).
July 16, 2017
Very much enjoyed this book as I prepare for an upcoming trip to England. Reading about some of the quirky differences between life in the UK and the US was fun and eye-opening. And as a pastor's wife who has been transplanted out of my own place of origin (albeit not to a different country), I totally connected with the author's longing for home and family. So glad I picked this up!
August 16, 2020
This 3 star review is a case of “it’s not you, it’s me”.
I really don’t enjoy “chatty” Christian books, especially ones with recipes at the end. I’m not domestic enough and want a bit more serious thoughtfulness about the subjects discussed.
Amy does seem lovely, though, and I’d be happy to have a cup of tea with her.
I really don’t enjoy “chatty” Christian books, especially ones with recipes at the end. I’m not domestic enough and want a bit more serious thoughtfulness about the subjects discussed.
Amy does seem lovely, though, and I’d be happy to have a cup of tea with her.
June 12, 2018
A lovely, thoughtful memoir by an American who married a British vicar and thus moved her life to England. I really appreciated her honesty about the joys and pains of having a home in two different countries.
January 24, 2025
Easy to read and with some interesting facts, however the some of the references and translations from UK to US were unnecessary, with the US culture influencing ours so much we all know what a sidewalk is. Also as I’m not Christian, a lot went over my head!
March 6, 2018
A beautiful insight into a wonderful woman. Honest. Vulnerable. Deeply gracious. And some poignant insights to chew on too.
March 13, 2017
A delightful read. With each chapter, it felt like sitting down to tea and catching up on life with an old friend- a very fascinating life for an American in the U.K. This book contains a world you'll want to visit.
November 27, 2015
Burns was right! ‘O wad some Power the giftie gie us to see oursels as ithers see us!’ Amy Boucher Pye does this for us in spades. Her autobiographical book wanders through the seasons from winter to autumn, as seen through Christian festivals, home cooking and the life of a VW (Vicar’s Wife). Not least of the problems of the VW in question is that she was uprooted from her home in the USA by marriage to Nicholas, an Anglican ordinand, and landed among aliens (the British) whose language and customs are bewildering and full of pitfalls. The whole is narrated with humour and insight - no doubt worn thin at times, but survived with Nicholas and their two children, the Pylets, as a good supporting cast. The references and notes at the end for UK and American readers are worth reading just for the fun of it.
Her strong Christian faith is inspiring. I loved every line and although I have yet to try her recipes, her book warrants five stars anyway.
Her strong Christian faith is inspiring. I loved every line and although I have yet to try her recipes, her book warrants five stars anyway.
October 26, 2016
The author is a friend on Facebook, although I have never met her. I don't read many books in this genre, the light-touch Christian memoir, but this one was both entertaining and honest, with just enough spiritual pith. Amy comes from Minnesota, but is married to an English vicar, and has had to just to the strangeness of the British while keeping her true home with God. The book seems designed to explain both British and US (Christian) cultures to each other, but perhaps especially the former, and I do hope it's read in America. She certainly made me question some of our weird British ways. The chapter about the house-swap contained a few too many verbatim emails, and aroused an interesting question about living in a very consciously Christian culture that I would have liked to see more developed. Maybe in her next work!
February 8, 2016
A British Christian publisher told how books he accepts cannot be blatantly Christian because England is too secular.
Reading Finding Myself in Britain was heartening. It is unashamedly Christian. There are believers in England!
Most interesting to me are the differences noted between the US and the “mother” country. Not only the American author’s experiences in Britain, but a British friend’s experience of life in the US. I have spent little time in Britain, but do enjoy British television shows. To get a look inside of life in Britain through Amy Boucher Pye’s book was special.
September 12, 2016
I really enjoyed reading this book. Amy has a nice, easy, chatty style as she talks about the different aspects of British life from making a cup of tea to queuing and talking about the weather. Some of the different situations were recognisable but I also learnt a few things about my own country from Amy, an American! For example, that the slang word for toilet 'loo' comes from the French 'Gardez l'eau' which used to be shouted from town windows as people through the contents of their 'piss pots' in the street. I also learnt some facts about America, such as having to use a car to go anywhere and not being able to just 'pop out to the shops. A very informative and interesting read.
August 16, 2017
As a professed Anglophile, I expected to enjoy Amy Boucher Pye's account of life as an American ex-pat and VW (vicar's wife) in London. What I wasn't expecting were the encouraging and relevant spiritual parallels she draws between being transplanted into another culture far from home, family, and friends, and being a Christian living in the world. Her exhortations to embrace the life you've been given, wherever that is, shored up my own resolve to do that as a Midwesterner living in the strange land of the Mid-South. Finding Myself in Britan is a worthwhile read in every way, and not just for Anglophiles.
February 15, 2016
After a couple trips to England, I have fallen in love with all things British. And although I loved learning all the British fun facts weaved throughout the book, it was the author's honesty about how challenging it can be to find your way in a new place, that made the book so special. Falling in love with a dashing vicar, marrying and moving to England sounds like a fairy tale, but like every adventure, there are both joys and challenges. A fun mix of faith, history, humor, and hope.
June 19, 2018
How does an American wind up as a vicar's wife in England? And, how does that American adjust to her new life? Finding Myself in Britain answers both of the questions. Amy Boucher Pye divides her story into sections about each of the seasons with insights about the British and her struggle to feel at home in a different country. Her Christian faith was obviously a source of comfort and strength for her.
February 5, 2017
Very interesting book about an American woman who married a Pastor and moved to England. All the differences between her homeland and England. Funny stories too. Well worth reading.
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