Repeat After Me
The author, born in Tennessee, had such a pronounced Southern accent as a child that she needed a tutor to help her master “”Yankee English”” in order to fit in with her Ohio classmates. That challenge sparked a lifelong fascination with language. Her passion is tested when she marries Paul Pimsleur, a rising star French professor. She is expected to master multiple new tongues as they travel to Greece, Germany, France, and Africa to create what became the renowned Pimsleur language programs.
The couple’s life of international work is cut short by her husband’s unexpected and untimely death. But Beverly’s story doesn’t end with loss. As a 38 year-old widow with two young children, she continues to play a pivotal role in the success of the family business and even starts a business of her own. She meets a new romantic partner, moves to France, and returns to New York after her companion’s death to help create a language teaching system for children with her daughter.
Repeat After Me is the narrative of a woman who turned obstacles into opportunities and never lost her joie de vivre. More than a memoir, this is a behind the scenes look at the making of a global legacy by the woman who helped change the way the world learns languages.
Written with candor and humor against the background of key political events of her day, readers will discover a narrative as captivating as it is inspiring — and one that just might change the way they see their own.
What People Are Saying
What a good read!
Because I have a passion for learning languages, I chose this book. What a wonderful surprise to discover the depth of the author’s commitment, but even more to become acquainted with her through her candor and well-crafted writing. Living abroad in various locales afforded her opportunities to observe various cultures that sometimes challenged her daily life as well as that of her family. I appreciated her ability to express her successes without boasting, and to describe her tragedies and regrets without begging solace from the reader. It was definitely a ‘feel-good’ read that made me want to know better this woman who has surpassed great obstacles and continues to share her optimism and generosity.
— Heidi Shafranek
DELIGHTFUL, PROFOUND AND INSPIRING
“Repeat After Me: A Love Affair with Language, a memoir by Beverly Pimsleur, is a richly textured life story that weaves personal history, global travel, cultural upheaval, and the intimate power of language into a deeply human narrative. From the opening chapters, Pimsleur situates the reader firmly in time and place, before Google, with operator-assisted phone calls, yellow legal pads, and tape recorders, creating an immediate sense of era. The early chapters are charming and vivid, but they also establish the deeper arc of the book, showing how language shapes identity, opportunity, perception, and even survival. Whether she is navigating gender expectations as a free-spirited woman in the mid-twentieth century or witnessing history firsthand, from Berlin during the construction and later dismantling of the Wall to postwar Europe, Pimsleur consistently grounds major historical moments in lived experience. What ultimately makes this book so memorable is its long view of a woman’s life, one that includes reinvention well into later decades. This is a thoughtful and engaging book for anyone interested in languages, cultural history, women’s lives, or the lifelong courage it takes to keep beginning again.”
— Julia A. Halpin
AN AMAZING VICARIOUS ADVENTURE
Beverly Pimsleur’s life is big and roaming and romantic and I loved traveling along with the trepidation, triumphs, and heartaches. She writes easily about hard things, and I happily accepted the invitation to walk hand in hand through decades of 20th c. life in the US and Europe. All of it through the eyes of this never quite all the way grown up girl from Ohio who learned early how to really say yes, and see where that might take her.
— Liz OConnor
CAPTIVATING & WITTY
I highly enjoy narrative pieces and memoirs in particular, and I think this one deserves some love. The way Beverly tells her family’s story, immersed in multiple cultures and languages, made this a really special read. Her storytelling is heartfelt and captivating, bringing to life some of the most fascinating decades of the past century — with highlights including her time abroad, explorations of reproductive rights, and the way grief is interwoven in a tragic yet beautiful way (her sense of humor is also a highlight – witty jokes interspersed were very entertaining). I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for a bit of perspective and who loves world travel.
— Maggie Needham
INSPIRING AND BEAUTIFUL READ
“Repeat After Me” is such a warm and inspiring read!! Beverly Pimsleur tells her story with honesty and grace — from her Southern childhood to her adventures abroad and the creation of the Pimsleur language programs. What I loved most is how the book connects language to identity and belonging. It’s not just about learning words, but about finding your voice, adapting, and discovering who you are through culture and connection. Her writing feels genuine and curious — you can tell she’s someone who truly loves people and the ways language brings them together. The sections about travel and love are touching, and her resilience after personal loss is deeply moving. If you enjoy memoirs about travel, language, and self-discovery, or if you’ve ever used a Pimsleur course and wondered about the story behind it, this is a beautiful and uplifting read!!!!”
— Marialucia Heenan
A LIFE FULLY LIVED
The memoir, Repeat After Me, by Beverly Pimsleur, is a love letter to LIFE, with all its joys and heartaches. The author has an openness to experience that leads her on a worldwide journey helping to develop, with her husband, the groundbreaking Pimsleur Language learning programs. Along the way she falls deeply in love (twice), travels and lives in iconic cities, becomes a mother, teacher, and activist. All this against a backdrop of the social and political upheaval of the 1960’s and beyond. The author is a woman who “lived through interesting times” and made the most of every experience, growing and pushing forward through each beautiful and devastating event. Well into her eighties, she has continued to take on new adventures, including learning to Tango and boating the canals of France. This is a read that will leave you with a little more courage to leap into the unknown and believe it will all work out in the end, even if it’s not exactly how you imagined.
— Adrienne Keith
