I Am Finally, Finally French

My Accidental Life in Brittany

De: Mark Greenside

Narrado por: Maxim Reston

A hilarious and heartfelt memoir of embracing life in rural France.

At 47, Mark Greenside, a glass-is-half-empty native New Yorker living in California, unwillingly went to Brittany, and to his great amazement and surprise fell in love with the place and its people. Then, because love makes you crazy and do crazy things, he borrowed money from his mom and bought a 120‑year‑old farmhouse in Plobien, a village of 500 people. Thus began Mark’s bumbling, hilarious journey adapting to life in rural France. From navigating unwritten rules about touching tomatoes at the market to hosting dinners for discerning friends, every mishap and cultural and linguistic misunderstanding—of which there were many—became a lesson in resilience, perseverance, compliance, and humility.

Now, three decades later, Mark reflects on the unforeseen joys and challenges of growing older in the place he calls home every summer. With his trademark wit and self‑awareness, he reveals how his life in Plobien—and his friends’ and neighbors’ enduring patience and kindness—have shaped him into something he never thought he’d become: truly, deeply, finally French.

Both a love letter to Brittany and a meditation on life’s unpredictability, I Am Finally, Finally French is an invitation to laugh, learn, and savor the beauty of embracing change—no matter how daunting it seems.

©2025 Mark Greenside (P)2025 Skyhorse Audio

A Love Story

Mark’s book is a love story ! A love story of France, her people and her land. He weaves his humor into almost everything and always with complete candor and always loving. The love extends to his beautiful home that connects him to all the friends and neighbors that are center to this love story. I believe France has enhanced Mark’s capacity to love and appreciate his own life with Donna in a simple yet profound manner. Transferring that to this book has allowed us to visit with old friends and share the joy of a return trip to Brittany. Bisous bisous. I look forward to discovering Brittany

Story excellent, narrator not so much

Mark Greenside is very entertaining, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading his book I'll Never be French. Since I don't read so much anymore, I thought I'd give this book a listen. Unfortunately, some of the magic is lost because the voice just doesn't seem right.

Life in rural France has so much character

"I Am Finally Finally French" by Mark Greenside is the hilarious guide to surviving rural France—where the bureaucracy is as thick as a baguette and nearly as hard to swallow. Greenside takes us through the trials of navigating French life from choosing the ideal pantone color to paint the shutters, a septic system that gurgles and burps, a complimentary swarm of bees in the chimney, to dealing with incomprehensible notices that seem to exist solely to ruin one’s day. But fear not! The real magic of the book lies in the quirky, often absurd situations that necessitate developing relationships with the locals who, despite their constant baffling ways, ultimately help him tame the chaos. It’s like trying to put together IKEA furniture in a language you don’t speak, but with more wine and fewer instructions. If you’ve ever felt lost in a new culture, this book is a funny and heartwarming reminder that sometimes the best way to find your way is through the kindness (and chaos) of those around you.