A Long Way From Paris

                               

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Named A Kirkus Best Book of the Year

“You will weep…you will laugh.” Kirkus Reviews 

“Flecked with humor and bittersweet candor.” The Bellingham Herald

A Long Way from Paris  ISBN-990310213      978-0990310211

To get water, we pulled a stick from this rock on the hillside 1/2 mile from home

Cited as “New and Noteworthy” by Seattle Times

“Murray writes with humor and courage…as adventurous as “Eat, Pray Love”…with a little of Cheryl Strayed’s “Wild” thrown in. Yakima Herald

“Flecked with humor and bittersweet candor.” The Bellingham Herald

“This account captures the essence of coming of age.”  Kitsap Sun

“A riveting read. Murray engages the senses every step of the way.” Scott Driscoll, University of Washington, author of Better You Go Home

“Murray is both a sharp observer of the local color and a cartographer of her own internal geography, making A Long Way from Paris as richly textured as fromage de chèvre.” Langdon Cook, author of The Mushroom Hunters, winner of the 2014 Pacific Northwest Book Award and 2014 Washington State Book Award

“She beautifully explores her deep awareness of the land, an unfolding appreciation of hard work and the importance of family. The result is a fascinating journey filled with wisdom, grace and compassion.” Carlene Cross, author of The Undying West, Fleeing Fundamentalism 

“EC Murray brings the reader to the haunting, godforsaken beauty of the French Pyrenees…living a life stripped down to the basics, her senses, intuition, and heart must take over. It is a thoughtful, heartwarming journey…that leads…to the core of life.” Beth Corcoran, Lévis-Lauzon College, Quebec

“Written with beauty, candor and wit.” Wendy Hinman, author of Tightwads on the Loose

“Totally engrossing and imbued with both humor and heartbreak.  Murray has infused the everyday with meaning and adventure.” Carol Wissmann, Freelance writer, editor, and speaker.

“The more she dug, unveiling more intimate, personal material, the more she felt compelled to write, rather than inspired.” Springfield Republican, MassLive

“Anyone who’s struck out on the road to find themselves (and those who’ve wanted to!) will surely see themselves in E.C. Murray’s lovely and nicely rendered A LONG WAY FROM PARIS.” Theo Pauline Nestor, author of WRITING IS MY DRINK.

“This is one of my favorite memoirs out of over 500 which I’ve read and taught. It is all about the simple beguiling power of internal growth. The story unfolds through the use of Elizabeth’s daily journal while she tended goats as a young American woman in southern France. Almost imperceptibly, we are drawn into her experiences, reflections, memories and challenges. We start to care about the people and animals for whom she cares: the Fontaine family, their neighbours, her Australian fellow goat-herder, the goats themselves. All come alive as “Ay-leez-a-bett-a” grows with and through their struggles. It’s an adventure story, a love tale, a travelogue. We breathe the air, we taste the wine, we see the mountains in the mists and we walk for free through beautiful rugged ancient Languedoc. Elizabeth Murray’s sincere and emotionally touching account of her time in southern France stirred my soul.” Dr. Maureen Slattery, Former Vice-Dean Faculty of Human Sciences at University of Ottawa and St. Paul University; Montreal, Canada

“EVERYWOMAN—and her daughter—should read this book, brimming with gentle insights and strength of spirit, as sometimes we, like the author, mistakenly believe ourselves bereft of both.” Carol Wissmann, Freelance writer, editor, and speaker.

Note the overhang with corrugated metal: the toilet

Would you like to hear about E.C. Murray’s latest ventures? She posts once or twice a year.

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 A Long Way from Paris is fun and thoughtful book club choice. Here’s a link to lit lovers, a great site for book clubs with info about books, authors, and book club questions:

http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/14-non-fiction/10128-long-way-from-paris-murray

The land and beautiful Camargue horse looks the same. My daughter in foreground.