Japan Took The J.A.P. Out of Me : A Memoir by Lisa Findberg Cook... A Review!

The True Story of a Domesticated Princess

Six days after an InStyle-worthy wedding in Los Angeles, Lisa Fineberg Cook left behind her little red Jetta, her manicurist of ten years, and her very best friend for the land of the rising sun. When her husband accepted a job teaching English in Nagoya, Japan, she imagined exotic weekend getaways, fine sushi dinners, and sake sojourns with glamorous expatriate friends. Instead, she's the only Jewish girl on public transportation, and everyone is staring. Lisa longs for regular mani/pedis, valet parking, and gimlets with her girlfriends, but for the next year, she learns to cook, clean, commute, and shop like the Japanese, all the while adjusting to another foreign concept -- marriage. Loneliness and frustration give way to new and unexpected friendships, the evolution of old ones, and a fresh understanding of what it means to feel different -- until finally a world she never thought she'd fit into begins to feel home-like, if not exactly like home.

JAPAN TOOK THE J.A.P. OUT OF ME a funny and insightful memoir from debut author Lisa Fineberg Cook that takes readers along on a journey to a new home and a new soul. From Beverly Hills to Nagoya Japan. Lisa, a self proclaimed J.A.P. (Jewish American Princess), cannot wait to start her new and exciting life, but Nagoya is a far cry from the big city Lisa imagines. Lisa struggles to find a place for herself. To deal with the culture shock and the turbulence of her new marriage, she decides to get out of the house and gets a job teaching in a girl’s school. What Lisa gains there will change her attitude and help her to understand and appreciate her new home.

Today, Lisa Fineberg Cook is on a Virtual Blog Tour with her new book Japan Took The J.A.P. Out of Me, otherwise I would have saved this for a Memoir Monday post, because it is a perfect book for that! Lisa is funny! Honest and fresh in her writing about trying to fit in when everything around her is so different from what she grew up with. Her Chapter titles are cute- Laundry, Cooking, Transportation, Shopping, Cleaning & Intermission and that's just a glimpse into what's in store when you open the pages. You wish you could be her BFF in Japan! In the meantime, read her take on culture shock and becoming a true Domesticated Princess!

Would you like to learn more about Lisa? Here is an interview with Lisa on Simon & Schuster, her publisher's website! There's also a Reading Group Guide for Japan Took The J.A.P. Out of Me HERE! Discussion questions such as adapting to cultural differences, and how this can affect the beginning of a marriage.

Thank you to Sarah of Pocket Books for sharing Lisa book with me! It was a fun and refreshing read!