Book Review: All That This House Has to Offer

Reviewed by Samantha Hui

Like sharing a home-cooked meal with a close friend; an immersive family history

“‘I know you’ve told me these stories before, but every time I hear them, especially as I get older, they mean a little more.’”

All That This House Has to Offer is a series of vignettes that briefly delve into the life, loves, and hopes of the matriarchs of the Wall family. 

Throughout the book, as we watch Betty Wall grow up, we learn about the struggles her mother and her grandmother have faced in order to afford her the life she now lives and, in turn, can give her own daughter. A collection of personal “heritage stories,” this book tells us a very personal, yet universal story about how war changes the trajectory of a family’s life while showing us the power of storytelling. 

“We heard these stories from time to time, how one husband had been sent to the labour camps in Siberia and managed to get out, arriving in Canada twenty years later to find that his wife had remarried, assuming he was never coming back.”

This nonfiction story collection transitions from story to story chronologically, beginning with her preparing a meal with her mother as a young girl. At different stages in Betty’s life, she asks her mother or her Oma Wall to tell her stories about their childhood memories and experiences as they moved their families from Ukraine to Austria and then finally to Canada. World War II is the backdrop to their story; their husbands, sons, and brothers were being kidnapped or conscripted to the war, in spite of their being Mennonites and conscientious objectors to the war. 

“‘When I woke up from my dream of him the other day, it was as though he was right there. Not like I hadn’t seen him in almost seventeen years. He was right here, right now. And I was thinking about how much I loved and admired him and I wanted to share that with you.’”

While kneading fresh dough or sipping on warm hot chocolate, Oma Wall and Katie Wall tell Betty of their experiences during the war. Katie’s experiences are more from a child’s point of view; there was a sense of fear, yet a sense of adventure while moving to safer villages. This was the time Katie’s romance with Betty’s father began to flourish. For Oma Wall, though, her husband was taken and there was no word of his return. She also feared that her son—Betty’s father—wouldn’t return from war soon. The words left untold seem to tell us as much as the stories that are told do. Oma Wall speaks very little about her husband, possibly because talking about him would make his absence feel too real. 

“Two women, pillars of my life, as different as night and day, with hearts full of love for us all. Between them, they told us so many stories. And I know that if I know this much, there must be many more stories untold.”

What I enjoyed about this book is how it shows that there are also nonverbal and non-written modes of storytelling in our everyday life. Food recurs throughout the book, filling the readers with the smells and tastes of fresh bread, tangy borscht, and warm, sweet cocoa. 

In one of Katie’s stories, she recounts her mother kneading bread. This mirrors the scene in the first essay where Katie is preparing the yeast while Betty is hopping around helping her different family members as they pluck feathers from chickens and skin pigs. Passing down recipes and teaching younger generations how to grow, raise, and prepare foods is a testament to the power of storytelling, the passing down of information. 

“‘There is no point. Sometimes I dream about him. I don’t like to think about what happened to him.’”

All That This House Has to Offer is a deeply personal collection of essays that is filled with joy and heartbreak. The book cherishes the innocence and hope of childhood while praising the strength and resilience of parenthood. The essays feel alive; the smells of freshly prepared meals and hot drinks spill out of the page. Church hymnals can be heard at the turn of a page. This book will encourage its readers to ask about their family history and remind them that they have their own important and sacred memories to share. 

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Thank you for reading Samantha Hui’s book review of All That This House Has to Offer by Betty R. Wall! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.