If you want some ideas about how you could live your life differently, there are plenty here. Warning – these women will make you wonder what you have been doing with your life!
The author belongs to a walking group comprising women who have arrived in Portugal from a range of other countries and are trying to settle into their new lives and to make friends in the area, hence the subtitle ‘How 20 women from 16 countries came to live in Portugal’. She finds her fellow walkers interesting and so decides to interview them to create this book. She, somewhat reluctantly you sense, is the final ‘interviewee’. All of the women are ‘international’: they have lived in a number of different countries, cultures and languages and, whilst they all seem to love Portugal, they may or may not have settled there for good. All of them have lived or are living lives which are unorthodox in various ways. And all of which makes their lives interesting, if better lived vicariously in some cases. I would have liked a bit more of their interactions from their time walking, but perhaps that would have missed the point of the book. If you want some ideas about how you could live your life differently, there are plenty here. Warning – these women will make you wonder what you have been doing with your life!
Highly recommended, makes you start dreaming though!
Not the catchiest title ever but it definitely does ‘what it says on the tin’. Why read this book? Well for me it has nothing to do with the setting of Portugal although I’m sure if you know/are interested in that country that would be another good reason to read this book. Rather I’m interested in the lives of women and this book illustrates the fascinating lives of ordinary women (is any woman ordinary)? We meet amongst others a model, an acupuncture practitioner, a teacher and a conservationist; a rich and diverse group. I thought I would just dip in and out of this book - perhaps be tempted by the country they originated from….I have to warn you that these chapters are addictive “just another one” They do read as the conversations they began life as. They are revealing and honest about themselves and the societies they have lived in. I was intrigued, impressed, aghast and astounded by turn, in a quiet understated way. Walking, as we know, is an excellent way to get to know each other and to talk. These women have travelled the world, working, volunteering, marrying, raising children, not raising children and retiring. Highly recommended. (Makes you start dreaming though!)
They give you a sense of culture and tradition as the women come from all over the world.
This book follows the lives of 20 women who now live in Portugal but who all grew up in different places. They moved to follow spouses in some cases or to further their careers or for simply adventure. I loved it because each story is short (though how such stories are condensed I don't know) which kept my attention and unique. They give you a sense of culture and tradition as the women come from all over the world. Those who love traveling and have wandered what it might be like to up sticks and move to a foreign land will love this book but also those who love being inspired by those who break with tradition and go against the grain of society. A lovely read.
"You are only free when you realise you belong to no place- you belong to any place" Maya Angelou 's words ring in the ears of the women whose stories are told in this book.
"You are only free when you realise you belong to no place- you belong to any place" Maya Angelou 's words ring in the ears of the women whose stories are told in this book - they may be travellers from all the continents but, for now, at least, they have a common link to Portugal, which is where the author encountered them. From a variety of backgrounds, family circumstances and through happenstance, serendipity, love, work or simply the dream of travel, these women have found themselves in the same place, somewhere which will remain home to some of them, although not all "You have to go and come back to appreciate" as one says. The traditional role of women, to stay at home, whilst the men headed off to find work and look after the family, has radically changed. These women have travelled fearlessly, often alone, in unfamiliar territory and blazed a trail for their future, often creating a life very different to the one they may have expected. As Louise begins her book, she tells how, by tripping on marble steps, she left herself, ironically, unable to walk for several weeks. This story thus becomes a vicarious travel book and journey through life as it is for women in the 21st Century as she hears each womans' story in turn. "If you're always moving, you're hard to find," says Esther. By walking, however, finding themselves is what they all, ultimately, have managed to do.
A wonderful book which I am sure I will return to again and again.
This is a really interesting read. It is, perhaps, one to dip into as the stories are varied and many are very emotional, but each has an important message about life. The author begins with the story of her own life and how she came to be living in Portugal. She then documents the life stories of women she has met in her new home. Many of the women have spent their lives travelling and it is clear that they never stay anywhere for long! They move about the world meeting new people, making their own opportunities and fully grabbing all the experiences that life has thrown at them. Some have suffered a sad and deprived childhood, but all have embraced education and have used this to travel and improve their own lives and that of their families. Anyone like myself who finds travel daunting this book is inspiring. It also encourages us to talk to people we meet...they will have a story to listen to! A wonderful book which I am sure I will return to again and again.
Beautiful and so well written anything is possible. Recommended.
A really enjoyable book of 20 women now living in Portugal who grew up living in other areas. It reveals just how challenges and opportunities are thrust upon us luck or meant to happen no one knows. Some moved following husbands or partners as they progressed in their chosen jobs and some purely for their own careers. It shows one thing can lead to another planned or by purely being in one place at the right time. There is a lot of reflection and I found this book to be an inspiration from these wonderful women and their stories. I loved how the author included her own story. Beautiful and so well written anything is possible. Recommended.