Posts tagged ‘A Long Way from Iowa’
Springtime in Essoyes 2024
We are experiencing the fullness of spring these days. After a very rainy few weeks that was a bit too much of a good thing for the vignerons, and caused the river to be so full that it threatened to flood the center of Essoyes, finally the sun has come out, which is brightening spirits–and at least so far the river has stayed within its banks, pshew!
After all that rain, a little bit of sun has brought about abundant growth. The colza has shot up seemingly overnight (though not really), from knee-length to now over my head, and the fruit trees are in full bloom. How beautiful it all is!
Earlier this week I had the distinct pleasure–and honor–of meeting with a book group in Washington DC, to take questions about my memoir, A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France, through the wonders of Zoom. The Women’s Biography book group sponsored by Politics and Prose, my favorite indie bookstore in the US, had chosen my book for their April selection, and wanted to know if I would like to visit their meeting.
I was delighted to do so even though for me that meant getting up at 1:00 in the morning so I could be awake enough to be coherent when I joined them at a little after 7:30 pm their time (and 1:30 am mine!). (Not being a night owl at all there was no way I would have been able to stay awake that long before joining them.) I think they had enjoyed the book (pshew again!) and they asked me such interesting questions and made wonderful comments. They even gave me permission to share a picture of our Zoom meeting so that I could encourage other book groups to do the same.
It is always SO NICE for authors to be able to meet directly with the people who read their books. So if you are reading this post, and you are interested in women’s memoirs, and you belong to a book group who might like to read my book, and have me visit your meeting, please do so! I’d love to have such an opportunity, and I think I have now proved my sincerity and willingness to get up at any hour of the day to meet readers. 🙂
Mother’s Day is coming up soon in both the US and France–and I think the UK and Canada also? And I think A Long Way From Iowa–as a three-generations-of-women fulfilling-the-dream story–is appropriate Mother’s Day reading. I hope some of you will agree.
Until the next post, happy reading (whatever you are reading). And happy spring!
Janet Hulstrand is an American writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher of writing and of literature who lives in France. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You, and A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France; and coauthor of Moving On: A Practical Guide to Downsizing the Family Home.
Home again
My US book tour was a 49-day, whirlwind cross-country trip that offered the opportunity to introduce A Long Way From Iowa (AND Demystifying the French) to readers across the country, from Mystic, Connecticut on the East Coast to Seattle on the West.
Also (and equally important for me) it gave me the chance to reconnect with friends and family I hadn’t seen in some cases for more than five years. That was wonderful!
Now I am back in France, back in my quiet little village in Champagne, and I am beginning to reorient to a totally different pace, and a totally different way of life–but it is going to take a while. I’m not ready yet to write about the still-tumbling thoughts I have about the experiences I had on that cross-country journey, and the things I noticed along the way. One day I will be, and this is where you will find my thoughts and reflections about it when that time comes.
In the meantime I need to focus on building the momentum created during the tour, during which I found that every group of people I met with came up with unique and interesting ways of responding to A Long Way From Iowa, and asked such interesting questions about it. It’s wonderfully rewarding to know that people have read it and had it spark thoughts and memories about their own lives, their own families, their own grandmothers and mothers! And I hope that some of the conversations I had with the people who came to my events will encourage others to write their own stories too. It’s a wonderful thing to do.
Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays, is this week. This year I will be celebrating Thanksgiving with my sons in Paris. And giving thanks for so many things, too many to name here. Here’s wishing you and yours a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving wherever you are. And all good things in the weeks ahead.
Janet Hulstrand is an American writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher of writing and of literature who lives in France. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You, and A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France, and coauthor of Moving On: A Practical Guide to Downsizing the Family Home.
The Long Way From Iowa Book Tour Heads Back to France…
The coast-to-coast book tour for A Long Way From Iowa is now complete. Forty-nine days after the tour began at a library in Mystic, Connecticut, the final event was held last night–with a wonderful book group meeting in the home of a longtime friend, in Seattle.
It’s been a heartwarming, thrilling ride, and I am so grateful for the interest, support, and help I’ve received all along the way from friends, colleagues, family–as well as acquaintances, interested bystanders, and the public.
Stay tuned for the next installment in this adventure–and thanks so much for your interest!
Janet Hulstrand is an American writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher of writing and of literature who lives in France. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You, and A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France, and coauthor of Moving On: A Practical Guide to Downsizing the Family Home.
Au Revoir, Portland, Bonjour Seattle!
After a 36-hour trip across the country on the Empire Builder –two nights on the train, and one full day–I arrived in Portland, Oregon.*
I boarded the train in St. Paul (Minnesota) at 11:00 pm on Friday night, and arrived in Portland Sunday morning shortly before noon. I had been warned that Amtrak trains are notoriously unreliable in terms of on-time arrival: nevertheless, this train was not only on time, but a bit early. Therefore I had plenty of time to get cleaned up and rested up enough to be the guest of honor at the book party my friends Ginnie and Rick hosted for me in their lovely home the following evening.
This party was a great success! The guest list was composed of a nice mix of Ginnie’s friends and mine–including one friend from my first neighborhood in St. Paul, a woman I had not seen since before we were even women, still just girls (we figured out that the last time had been when we were about 14 years old!). Another was a dear old friend from my time of living in New York. A third was actually someone I had never met, the friend of a mutual friend. And the fourth was Linda Witt, who served as moderator for a couple of panel discussions I organized about Demystifying the French–with Linda’s help–for the Fédération des Alliances Françaises USA.
I enjoyed meeting with this group so much! The questions they asked, and the comments they made proved to me yet again that there are many ways into the story I tell in A Long Way From Iowa, and each individual reader tends to find the path that is most interesting for him or herself. Therefore, as usual, when there is the opportunity to discuss a book with a group of readers, all kinds of interesting and alternative ways of reading it tend to be discovered.
The next night, Ginnie and some of her friends and I went to a Barbara Kingsolver event sponsored by Literary Arts. Kingsolver was discussing her latest novel, the Pulitzer prizewinning Demon Copperhead. Prior to this event I had had no opportunity to learn anything about the book, but I was very interested to see that it has strong connections with the theme I am exploring with my students in my current online class for Politics and Prose bookstore, “Bootstraps.” That is, poverty in America. I’ve since started reading Kingsolver’s book and it is very compelling.
The next day was spent on some furious catching up on reading and preparing for class. Being three hours behind most of the students in my class meant that this time I had to be ready to teach at 6:45 am. It also meant that once class was over, I had a good deal of daytime ahead of me in which to explore Portland, and happily it worked into my friend Larry Kirkland’s schedule. He invited me to join him and some friends on a trip to Portland’s famous Japanese Garden, which was amazing!
By Friday my friend Ginnie and I were finally caught up enough on our various professional responsibilities that we were able to do a little bit of sightseeing. Ginnie’s husband Rick generously offered to be our chauffeur and tour guide on a drive to, and through, the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. His knowledge of both the geological history of this amazing area of protected natural beauty, and the political history of how it has been preserved made the trip so much more interesting than it would have been without him.
Saturday morning it was time for me to say goodbye to Portland and get back on the train–this time for a short and very pleasant three-hour ride to Seattle, with lovely forest all along the coast. (The train was once again right on time, yay Amtrak!)
I’ll have a few days here in Seattle and environs, staying with dear friends; and one visit to a book club hosted by another friend–then it’s onto a plane and on my way back to France, with a layover in Calgary.
Stay tuned for my report from Seattle. So far it is a very interesting town!
*I’ll comment on the name of that train–(the Empire Builder?!)–in a future post, when I report on my Amtrak experience. Teaser: Mostly it was a good experience. 🙂 )
Janet Hulstrand is an American writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher of writing and of literature who lives in France. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You, and A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France, and coauthor of Moving On: A Practical Guide to Downsizing the Family Home.
Thank You, New York, Washington, and Mystic, Connecticut!
Photos, left to right: 1. With Bob Attardi, Director of Programs at Politics & Prose Bookstore in Washington DC; 2. Colleagues, friends, and former students met me for a wonderful mini book event in Prospect Park, Brooklyn on a beautiful day in September; 3. Greenlight Books kindly invited me to come in and sign copies of A Long Way From Iowa. Stop by this wonderful Brooklyn bookstore and pick one up! 4. Breakfast with my friend Kevin Sisson, at Kitchen Little on Mason’s Island, near Mystic, CT.
I’ve been on the East Coast for a little more than a month now, and what a whirl it has been! In addition to visiting friends in New York, Connecticut, and the Washington DC area, and having book events, with the help of my son Sam I managed to (finally!) pack up the contents of the storage locker in Silver Spring, where my piano and many boxes and trunks full of family treasures–photographs, letters, journals and other documents, and of course a few books–have been trapped for far too long. They are now on their way to our home in France, hooray!
While I was in Brooklyn, I was really lucky to be able to stay in the home of my previous upstairs neighbors–and lifelong friends–in the very same building where I last lived in Brooklyn. It felt so good to be back! I have much more to say about Brooklyn, but most of it will have to wait until I’m working on my next book. For now I will just quote Francie Nolan, the protagonist of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn.
“At the end of their street, the great Bridge threw itself like a sigh across the East River and was lost… lost…on the other shore. The dark East River beneath the Bridge and far away the misty-grey skyline of New York, looking like a city cut from cardboard. ‘There’s no other place like it,’ Francie said…”
My trip to Mystic, CT was also a pleasure. I took the Amtrak train from the Moynihan Train Hall in Manhattan, a very comfortable, well-designed, and gleaming new station; and am happy to report that the train was comfortable, the staff was extremely helpful, and the train was on time. The first night I was in Mystic my friend drove us to the elegant Ocean House hotel in Waverly, Rhode Island, where we attended a very bookish event, an enjoyable evening with the authors Ann Hood and Michael Ruhlman. The following night I was given the chance to meet with some aspiring writers–and admiring readers–of memoirs at the Mystic/Noank Library to talk about writing an intergenerational memoir. I owe a big debt of gratitude to my friend Kevin, and to Ery Caswell, for giving me this opportunity.
Next it was on to Washington DC, where last Saturday night I had a very exciting moment in my career as a writer; a celebration of A Long Way From Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France at Politics and Prose, one of the best bookstores in the country–and my favorite, and “home,” bookstore. Despite threatened severe weather that night, the house was packed with a wonderful mix of friends, former neighbors, current and former students, and some members of the P&P community that I knew not at all. Bob Attardi, the store’s Director of Programs led me in conversation about the book, and I read a few excerpts from it. The store sold a lot of books, I signed some more, and they are now there, and available for purchase, in person or online. I’m deeply grateful to this wonderful bookstore, and the community of writers and readers it has built and nourished through the years, for all they have done for me, and for other readers and writers in the Washington DC area–and actually, across the country and around the world–through their excellent programs, trips, and classes.
All along my way there have been wonderful people who have helped me through what could have been a very bumpy landing in my home country after several years away–since I arrived here having broken my glasses, wrenched my back, hurt my foot, and come down with Covid all in the space of a week or so. (Really, you’d think just one of those things would have been enough, wouldn’t you?) These friends have given me beds to sleep in; guided me through the learning curve of using my very first Iphone; picked me up from various bus stops and train stations; fed me delicious and healthy food; encouraged me when it seemed like things were really not going so well; and in one case literally (but gently) half lifted/half pried me out of bed when my back was saying “Uh-uh, no I don’t think she’s going anywhere…”
They have made me think of that Beatles song…you know the one I mean, right?
Strangers have helped too, helping me up or down stairs with my bags when they could see I was struggling, in general just being kind. I am grateful!!! Thanks, Americans! 🙂
I know there will be many other helping hands along the way as I make my way across this country, and I am grateful in advance for it. My first Minnesota event will be in St. Paul; my birthplace, and truly “home country” for me, since this event will be at the Westside Farmer’s Market, which is held in the parking lot of Icy Cup, my sister and brother-in-law’s wonderful little ice cream-and-taco business. There will also be events in West Central Minnesota (in Sunburg); and in indie bookstores in two lovely Mississippi River towns–Red Wing, and Winona. I am so excited about this, after five long years away! Here’s the link for the scheduled events, hope to see some of you along the way!
After that I will be heading to the Pacific Northwest, to two towns I’ve never been to, and have always wanted to go: Portland, Oregon, and Seattle. Stay tuned!
Janet Hulstrand is an American writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher of writing and of literature who lives in France. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You, and A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France, and coauthor of Moving On: A Practical Guide to Downsizing the Family Home.
US Book Tour of A Long Way from Iowa Underway!
What a great time to start a book tour, the beginning of September! And the US part of the Long Way from Iowa Book Tour starts this week.
The first event is this Thursday, in Mystic, Connecticut, a place I’ve never been before, and am very much looking forward to visiting.
On September 15 I’ll be stopping by Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn, where I used to live (and where I left a big piece of my heart), to sign preordered copies of A Long Way from Iowa. You can order YOUR signed copy of the book here. (Be sure to indicate that you want your copy signed and/or personalized before completing the order, and order SOON so your book has time to get to the store before I do!)
The next event will be at Politics & Prose bookstore, my favorite, and my “home” bookstore in the US, on September 23.
And you can find out about the rest of the tour (thus far!) here.
Hope to see you in one of these places. In the meantime, if you’ve read A Long Way from Iowa and haven’t yet written a review on Amazon or Goodreads, I sure hope you will. You have no idea how much those reviews help writers! And it doesn’t have to take you more than five minutes to write one. 🙂
Thanks for all your enthusiasm and support. It is very much appreciated!
Janet Hulstrand is an American writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher of writing and of literature who lives in France. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You, and A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France, and coauthor of Moving On: A Practical Guide to Downsizing the Family Home.
The Long Way from Iowa Book Tour Continues…
I was delighted to once again be invited to speak at the Adrian Leeds Meet-Up in Paris last week. I’ve been lucky to be able to talk about my various books and interests at this fun venue in Paris on a number of occasions over the past few years–on everything from Downsizing the Family Home to the beautiful départment de l’Aube (in the Champagne region) where I live in France, to Writing from the Heart, to Demystifying the French. This time I gave a presentation about my newest book: a memoir titled A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France. If you’d like to see a recording of this event, you can do so right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKsxjc6S8-8&t=1s
The next event on the Long Way from Iowa calendar is in Washington DC, in September. But I’m hoping I will be able to fill in a couple of other locations on the East Coast by the time I arrive there in August.
After a few weeks in New York and Washington, I’ll be heading home to the Midwest, where I’ll be visiting family and friends and adding a few more book events. So far I’ll be signing and/or talking about my book in St. Paul, Winona, and Red Wing, Minnesota. Exact dates still to be determined, but do stay tuned: you can watch for new book tour developments here.
Then, sometime in October I’ll be heading to the Pacific Northwest, a part of the country I’ve never been to: visiting close friends in Portland and Seattle. I’m hoping to have the chance to introduce my book to readers there also, before I head home to France.
I’m grateful for the support I’ve received from people across the US and also in Europe and Australia, and for all the wonderful comments you’ve made about A Long Way from Iowa. I’m hoping if you haven’t already done so you will share what you liked about the book on Amazon or GoodReads. Most readers have no idea how helpful these reviews are! (And you don’t even have to have bought the book from Amazon in order to write one.)
Yesterday was what we call Bastille Day (but the French call it “la fête nationale,” or “le quatorze juillet,” not Bastille Day! 🙂 ). From my home I was able to watch the bursts of color showering the sky above both Essoyes and Loches–our nearest adjacent village–on a lovely summer evening, with my son. I’m grateful for my life here in France–and for the chance to visits friends and family across the United States for the first time in a few years, very soon. I’m really looking forward to that.
Janet Hulstrand is an American writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher of writing and of literature who lives in France. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You, and A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France.
Mothers and Daughters, and Sisters…and Book Groups!
Mother’s Day is a nice holiday, but it is also a holiday that is hard for some people. Daughters who have lost mothers; mothers who have lost daughters (or sons); women who wanted to become mothers but couldn’t, or didn’t, for some reason. Mothers and daughters (or sons) who feel that they could have been better mothers (or daughters, or sons). Mothers and daughters and sons who are in a bad moment–or a bad way in general–when it comes to these relationships. I’m sure there are other reasons too.
I am going to try to make this post one that celebrates and honors women, period. Mothers. Not-mothers. Daughters. Sisters. Aunts. Women friends. Even book groups!
Why book groups? Because many (though by no means all) book groups tend to be composed of women.
And because my wonderful sister has just shared my long-awaited book (long-awaited by at least her and me, and a few other people) with her book group.
My book is about mothers and daughters. My mother was a wonderful mother. My sister is/was a wonderful daughter. I was a pretty good daughter, but I was not an easy daughter for my mother to raise. (She loved me anyway. I wrote about our close, but not perfect, relationship here.)
And now I have finally published the book I decided to write thirty years ago, when I suddenly realized, in one of those profound moments of life that sometimes grabs you by the throat, or the heart, or in the gut–that I owe so much of who I am and have been able to become because of not only my mother, but also her mother. The grandmother I actually didn’t really like that much. (You’ll have to read the book if you want to know why.)
I don’t remember when I told my sister I was working on this book, but it was quite a few years ago. And so my sure-fire, eager audience of one (my sister) waited all those years and always let me know that she was really looking forward to reading “the book.” (She called it, calls it still, “the book” as if there were only one in the world! 🙂 )
And now that it is a real book, she shared the news with a group of her “sisters”–the members of her wonderful book group in Minneapolis. And they read the book (this means, by the way, that they also bought the book: this means a lot to authors!). And this week they discussed the book, and apparently they really liked it.
The picture on the right above is of my sister’s book group, holding up my book at the festive meeting (French wine included) at which they discussed it.
The picture in the middle is my hermanita (my little sister), reading my book. (I don’t know who took that picture, but I’ll bet my wonderful brother-in-law did. Maybe. Or it could have been my wonderful niece or nephew. Anyway, I love the picture.)
The picture on the left is my mother, taken on one of her happiest days, and mine. She is looking on with love and pride at my sister, and at my book, and at my sister’s book group. I know that if she were alive all of this would please her so much. (Well to be honest, maybe not every single thing I said in the book. But the general idea of the book, she would love that.)
So anyway. On this Mother’s Day I want to honor and thank my mother, and my sister, and the women in my sister’s book group, and all the other women who have so kindly nurtured me in a variety of ways throughout my life.
And I want to honor–and remember–all those mothers and daughters and sons out there who are hurting in some kind of way. I hope those of us who have been lucky in our lives and in our relationships will find ways to be kind and understanding, sensitive to and supportive of those who may not be quite as lucky. I hope we can all find ways to recognize and honor the love that comes from mothers, not-mothers, sisters, not-sisters, all women who share their nurturing and their love with others in whatever ways they can–and who may be hurting on this day.
And to let them know that we do, and that we care. Because all those love songs are right–it really is the most important thing. And everyone needs it.
Janet Hulstrand is a writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher of writing and of literature who divides her time between the US and France. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You, and A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France.
Midwestern Memoirs: An Online Class
Class starts April 7. Hurry up if you want to join us in a wonderful literary exploration of the (ahem!) famous “flyover country.”
Q: Is it really something to just fly over?
A: NO! It’s something to dig into. To explore, enjoy, learn from. And here’s your chance! 🙂 https://www.politics-prose.com/class/online-class-midwestern-memoirs-exploring-heart-of-heartland-2337
Janet Hulstrand is a writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher of writing and of literature who divides her time between the US and France. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You, and A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France.
Book Tour! for A Long Way from Iowa
I’m really happy about the initial launch of A Long Way from Iowa. Thanks to everyone who has already bought the book!
If I can ask one more little favor of you, it would be for you to write a review on Amazon and/or GoodReads. These reviews really help writers, and they are so easy to do!
I have not been in the US since 2019 and I am very much looking forward to getting back there this summer, to see friends and family, and to do a little book tour.
My book tour will begin in France, with events scheduled for Paris and Nice. Then in August I will finally make it (fingers crossed) to my ancestral homeland (Sweden), with one of my sons. And I will fly from there to somewhere in the US (exact initial destination to be determined).
I’m very excited about one very special event, scheduled for September 23 in Washington DC, at Politics and Prose bookstore, which was one of my favorite places to be during the 14 years I lived in the Washington area. There I look forward to seeing not only many of those who took the classes I taught there, but also the wonderful friends I made in Washington during those years.
Of course this book tour has to go to the Midwest, and it will! I am also hoping to make it to a part of the country I’ve never been before and have always wanted to go: the Pacific Northwest.
And surely a book that has a chapter titled “A Cheap Loft in the West Village” should have some kind of event in New York City, shouldn’t it?
The details of such a trip take quite a while to arrange. But the first events have been scheduled, and they are posted here. Stay tuned for more as the calendar develops.
Janet Hulstrand is a writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher of writing and of literature who divides her time between the US and France. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You, and A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France.
Writing from the Heart, Reading for the Road 