Although I’ve only just come back from a pretty good trip, I’m already missing my travels so I’m delighted that Laine B Brown has agreed to stay in with me on Linda’s Book Bag and take me away through her book.

Staying in with Laine B Brown

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Laine. Thanks so much for staying in with me. Which of your books have you brought along to share?

The book title is Finding Myself in Puglia.

What can we expect from an evening in with Finding Myself in Puglia?

It is a personal Italian memoir of my experiences of living in Puglia, in Italy.  A little-known region of Italy, in the heel of the boot,  which is more like Greece than Italy.  Seafood is the main dish of the day and is often eaten raw and drizzled with lemon.  Although I never got used to eating something that looked as though it could still be moving on my plate.

(I can sympathise with that. I had raw fish and seafood in Japan the other year and I wasn’t entirely convinced!)

Living in Italy I learnt to value silence, learnt to feel comfortable living and risked my life on the Italian roads.  I did this, because I felt I had to and because I wanted to realise a dream, realizzare un sogno… 

(I think we could all do with more silence in our lives Laine.)

What else have you brought along this evening and why have you brought it?

I’ve brought Aperol Spritz to share and green olives, also a large plate of antipasti of Italian cured meats and buratta cheese.

That looks delicious. And who are all these people you’ve brought along?

I’ve brought Norah Ephron, Bill Bryson, Tim Parks, Luigi Barzini (who wrote about the Italian in 1964 and nothing has changed) and Elizabeth Gilbert. It will be quite a party!

It certainly will! Bill Bryson would have us in fits of giggles I’m sure! Thanks so much for staying in with me, bringing lovely food and telling me all about Finding Myself in Puglia, Laine.

Finding Myself in Puglia

An Italian memoir.
Laine gave up her job as a nurse, sold her home and gave away most of her belongings. She has three desires bubbling at the heart of her choice: to write a book, paint a picture and climb a mountain before she died.

A man with a van took most of her remaining belongings, along with her basset hound Basil, down to the heel of Italy over 1,500 miles away, where she would spend the next four years.

If it all seemed like a folly, then she was willing to take the risk. She moved to a house that she had only spent a week in the year before. She knew no one and yet she had surety in her resolve. She wanted to feel fully present in feeling unsafe and comfortable with the not knowing.

And so the journey began, a new language, a new life laced with humour and laughter under the warm southern Italian sun.

Come and join her…

Finding Myself in Puglia is available for purchase here.

About Laine B Brown

Laine B Brown lives in Norfolk with her basset hound Basil and Italian cat, Munchkin. Laine spent four years living in the heel of Italy where she penned her personal memoir, Finding Myself in Puglia.

You can find out more by visiting Laine’s website, finding her on Facebook or following her on twitter @Lainebbrown.