This story, about three generations of women with a passion for reading, writing, and travel, begins in 1992, in an unfinished attic in Brooklyn, as a young writer reads journals written by her grandmother as a schoolgirl nearly 100 years earlier. This sets her on a 30-year quest to uncover the hidden lives and unfulfilled dreams of her mother and grandmother. In this coming-of-middle-age memoir, the author comes to realize that the passion for travel and for literature that has fueled her life's journey is a gift that was passed down to her by the very role models she was determined to escape.
This is a story of the life-changing journey of the author as she comes to terms with the complicated relationships she had with her mother and grandmother; about her travels in the US and France; and the emotional journey she takes as she recovers from the breakup of her marriage. It is also about the journeys--geographic, intellectual, and emotional--of her mother and grandmother.
It is also a story about the tenacity and strength of even difficult family relationships; and about the role of luck, both good and bad, in shaping human lives. It is about the importance of dreams, whether or not they are entirely fulfilled. And it is about the importance of persistence in making dreams come true, as well as the kind of wisdom that allows one to quietly enjoy one's life, accepting its limitations while pushing its boundaries.
Janet Hulstrand is a writer/editor and teacher of literature who grew up in Minnesota, lived for many years in New York and Washington DC, and is currently living in a beautiful little village in the Champagne region of France. She writes frequently for BonjourParis.com, France Today, France Revisited, and for her blog, Writing from the Heart, Reading for the Road. She has taught classes for Politics and Prose since 2011, and for City University of New York study abroad programs since 1997. Her other books include Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You, and Moving On: A Practical Guide to Downsizing the Family Home.
Hulstrand will be joined in conversation with Bob Attardi, Director of Programs and Classes here at Politics and Prose Bookstore.
Interested in this event? Check out Janet's upcoming online class, Bootstraps: Poverty in America Through Classic American Literature. Students will explore poverty in America through three classic works of American literature and one anthology of poetry, as well as essays and excerpts of longer works. Sign up today.
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This event is free with first come, first served seating.
