Recently, I was asked to review Birth of an American Family by Geoffrey Moehl II. It is the memoir of a Catholic Charities mentor to two Russian families relocated to Florida after being granted refugee status. The book chronicles their adjustment to life in the United States and open-minded acceptance of American culture as seen through the eyes of the author. Moehl teaches the Russian family many things we take for granted: the English language, finding the grocery store, getting a driver's license, playing games like Sorry!, helping children with homework. Throughout the book, he also realizes and reflects on how much he learns from them—both about Russian culture and about himself as a person. Birth of an American Family is a labor of love and Moehl exhibits an understandable amount of pride in undertaking such important volunteer work.

With illegal immigration being a hot topic in the news, it was refreshing to read an inspirational story about legal refugees and the dedication of an American willing to help them. Throughout the story, Moehl tells anecdotes of misunderstandings easily understood by anyone who has had experience with cultures outside their own. For example, at one meal:

Taking a spoonful, I realized the soup base was cold sour cream, served right from the fridge. I generally will eat some sour cream, but not three cups worth. I felt extremely awkward. How could I convey to my host I do not like the soup without offending my host's hospitality and kindness?

Later on, one of the mothers wants to find a place to acquire Russian foods and uses the word "cookbooks." Moehl, always willing to supply assistance, sends her to a bookstore. Rather than blame the miscommunication on her lack of English skills, he realizes that he, too, is partly to blame and reflects, "Boy did I feel silly."

Although the author is grammatically proficient and maintains his voice throughout, the writing does suffer from a few problems commonly found in self-published work. A good editor could repair errors in punctuation and make verb tenses more consistent. In addition, the story is currently told in chronological order. It may be more engaging to the reader if it were told topically, with chapters, for example, dedicated to "miscommunication&qu ot; or "food" or "work." Finally, I felt that some parts were incomplete. At the beginning of the book, I would have loved more background on the families' lives in Russia and their decision to leave. Not being a religious person, I also would have benefited from some information on Catholic Charities and the kind of work they do.

Despite the above minor issues, I did enjoy the sections dealing with education since I used to be an elementary school teacher. Moehl talks of his transition into teaching after having spent a large part of his life (as we all do) as a student. He models his approach after favorite teachers from his childhood and reworks lessons in order to make them more attainable by the Russians. He also devotes some time discussing the problems experienced by one of the children in an ESL classroom heavily laden with Spanish-dominant speakers.

Rather than maintain a static outlook as a mentor and teacher, Moehl constantly reflects on his observations and his failures. Undoubtedly, his strength is his willingness to adapt and learn from his experiences.

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