Nothing Bad Between Us

A Mennonite Missionary’s Daughter Finds Healing in Her Brokenness

By: Marlena Fiol PhD

Narrated by: Pamela Almand

Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

After being publicly humiliated in front of her entire close-knit Mennonite community, Marlena Fiol didn’t know how she would recover. Follow her journey from an abusive upbringing in Paraguay to escape, love, and loss in the United States and finally on to forgiveness and reconciliation.

Discover a story of healing and personal transformation. Marlena’s childhood was full of contradictions. Her father was both a heroic doctor for people with leprosy and an abusive parent. Her Mennonite missionary community was both a devoted tribe and a controlling society. And Marlena longed to both be accepted in Paraguay and escape to somewhere new. In Nothing Bad Between Us, follow Marlena’s journey as she takes control of her life and learns to be her authentic self, scars and imperfections included.

Uncover inner peace - and inner strength. Nothing Bad Between Us is a story of brokenness and eventual redemption that taps into our collective yearning for healing and forgiveness. As you listen to Marlena’s story, you will:

• Learn how to forgive yourself and others without giving up your personal growth and self-confidence
• Discover that transformation and redemption often exist even in the most broken parts of who you are
• Find out how to stand in your power, knowing that vulnerability won’t lead to your downfall, but to increasing courage, connection, and authenticity

Listeners of memoirs about family, self-healing, and the strength of a woman like The Glass Castle, Love Warrior, and Leaving the Witness will be captivated by Nothing Bad Between Us.

©2020 Marlena Fiol (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

Could not put it down!

As I read Nothing Bad Between Us, I felt transported to Paraguay as the young daughter of a uniquely accomplished missionary doctor. I love the spirit of this girl as she bravely shares her captivating story.

A rare memoir.

This is a rare memoir. Often, painful childhood circumstances filled with relational patterns of shame, harm relationships in permanent ways. Marlena's story is a light through this darkness. She uncovers the spiritual practices that reopen her own heart. You will be enriched digging in deeply to this remarkable sorry.

Peek into Mennonite culture and discipline

Although I got tired of the repeated relationship mistakes and self-pity, the emotions as conveyed by the reader were real and raw and brought me back to understanding the author more. It was a fascinating look at the Mennonite faith and practices as well as the Paraguayan lifestyle. The redemption in the end was welcomed and overdue, but childhood insecurities and emotions do affect lifelong struggles and these came through clearly. I felt most connected to the stern papa who's love for his daughter and frustration with her rebellion from his faith and constraints caused him to discipline her in the way he was probably brought up. It actually didn't sound like constant child abuse as implied though.

The narration was excellent and I did hear the daughter's growth from little girl to adult and her growth in wisdom and understanding in the readers approach to her. And the Mennonite accents and old Pennsylvania Dutch sounded pretty authentic as did the Spanish.

Overall it was a good listen and I am glad I bought it. It will be a good book club choice and I recommend the audiobook.

Not good

I couldn't finish listening to this book. It became painful. The narrator was grating, especially when narrating voices of the dad, any older man, and the author as a child. Just terrible, stilted, and fake sounding. It actually made me cringe. The story was very superficial and didn't seem to get into any deep issues or explain some of the major plots. There wasn't much information about the Mennonite culture at all, which was a huge reason I wanted to listen to this book in the first place. Marlena's dad is a doctor yet lets his kids run around barefoot so they can contract pinworms? I wasn't able to determine how Marlena got involved with the married man and the extent of that relationship. Then suddenly she's in love with a man and marries him. Again, there was no depth to anything and I had to just discontinue listening. NOT recommended.