Happy New Year!
Every New Year, I like to recap one thing I’m proud of that happened over the past year.
On New Years Day in January, 2014, I made a bucket list item come true. I went to France and Italy alone and made memories, some of which were transformational.
Then I came home and wrote about them, and my essay got published in A Girls’ Guide to Travelling Alone by Gemma Thompson, which instantly became a Kindle bestseller in the UK! And through that book, I made more lovely connections with other contributors that were equally transformational.
Yes, 2014 was punctuated by many deaths of family and friends and professional challenges. It was also a year of home renovations, and the year I turned 50! But what I love so much are the connections- old and new- that have been solidified.
My 50th Birthday party!
Those, and some awesome books I read.
My four top favorite books I read in 2014 were:
1) Swimming with Maya by Eleanor Vincent
2) The Removers by Andrew Meredith (no relation, but I wish!)
3) A Girl’s Guide to Travelling Alone by Gemma Thompson
4) My Other Ex: Women’s True Stories of Leaving and Losing Friends edited by Jessica Smock and Stephanie Sprenger
Truth be told, if someone would have told me in 1990 when I was filing for a restraining order and signing up for food stamps, or in 1995, when I went on my first solo trip overseas to find my kidnapped daughters, that my life would ever be this rich with family, friends, work, and adventures, I would have told them they were hallucinating.
It’s been a far from perfect life, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
What did you accomplish or live through in 2014 that you want to remember? And have you read any great books lately?
Thanks always for stopping by!