Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book free of charge, from Sourcebooks PR, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it.
Every parent wants to spend more time with their children creating lasting memories.
Jennifer Coburn just happened to start that journey in Paris.
Synopsis:
This new book chronicles Jennifer’s adventures traveling throughout Europe with her daughter Katie over an eight-year span (starting when Katie was eight-years-old).
Coburn shares details of their summer travels through Europe, one city at a time, united by their desire to see the world and spend precious time together.
Even though her husband can’t join them, even though she’s nervous about venturing overseas, and even though she’s perfectly healthy and not actually dying, Coburn decides to leave the bathroom and kitchen repairs for another day, and invest in building memories with her daughter.
Their journey begins in Paris when Katie is 8, and ends in Paris in 2013, when Katie is 16, after taking monthlong trips to more than a dozen European (including Paris, London, Rome, Salerno, Florence, Venice, Madrid, Seville, Granada, Barcelona, and Amsterdam).
Whether they are sleeping at Shakespeare and Company Booksellers in Paris, singing Korean folk songs at the Alhambra, playing charades with the locals in Pompeii, or visiting the Salvador Dalí Triangle in Spain, this is the story of how one mother lets go of the fear of death—and how her daughter teaches her to enjoy life.
Check out the trailer:
Jennifer has a great writing style, and it will grab you right away! It's very much like listening to your best friend tell you her tale of her bad vacation! "Jumped fence at the Paris, park, got brought to the police station." You're glued to seat, wanting to provide comfort, but excited for all the details. Yes, Jennifer and Katie had some ups and downs, but overall they had a blast travelling together, and it helped cement their mother-daughter relationship. Jennifer reminiscences about her dad during the book, and you can see how her travels with Katie helped her to come to terms with her upbringing, who her dad was and the type of parent he was. As a reader, you're happy for her, but those sections can be a tad bit draining, and break up the happy flow of the book. Which is why I recommend reading it in sections (noted by the different vacations). Then they become more of a lesson learned adjunct to that vacation. If you are looking forward to traveling with your daughter, the book is a great point of reference, about enjoying the NOW while traveling, and not being too regimented! If you are a museum/art lover, then Jennifer offers MANY great museums to visit in Europe (personally I would add more local/off the tourist map locations for my itinerary, but that's me). This is a wonderful Spring read and it will definitely get you off to the computer and starting to plan a trip!
Jennifer Coburn is a USA Today bestselling author of six novels and contributor to four literary anthologies. Over the past two decades, Coburn has received numerous awards from the Press Club and Society for Professional Journalists for articles that appeared inMothering, Big Apple Baby, The Miami Herald, The San Diego Union-Tribune, and dozens of national and regional publications. She has also written for Salon.com, Creators News Syndicate, and The Huffington Post. Coburn lives in San Diego with her husband, William, and their daughter, Katie. We’ll Always Have Paris is her first memoir.Visit her online at JenniferCoburn.com or on Facebook.
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