it was oddly hard for them to accept that , though american , he was neither from the deep south or the east coast , that his upbringing was in the pacific northwest , where the accents were mild and nearly canadian , and even though his parents had ticked a stereotypical box by being regular church-attenders - which , all right , it was difficult to find american protestants who were n't - they 'd been slightly laissez-faire about it , as if it were a duty , like vaccinations .