Category: My Journey
Finding the Women’s Story Buried in Immigrant Soldier
A Mother and Daughter Relationship Revealed. ________________________________________________________________________________________ I was compelled to write my first novel, Immigrant Soldier, because the true story of my uncle’s role in Patton’s Third Army grabbed me and would not let me go. Herman’s Jewish blood branded him in Nazi eyes, forced him to flee his homeland, and landed him in the…
Origins of a Novel
Inspiration Every time I hold one of the silver spoons in my hand, I remember. My thumb strokes the simple design on the handle, the capital L and the flat, crossed ribbons. I admire the elegant shape of the spoon, and I remember. It is not even my memory. It is my grandmother’s. I grew…
A Personal Space
Wherever the Word Leads · Do you love reading and books? · Are you fascinated with WWII or the 1930s and 40s? · Are you interested in the process of writing and publishing? · Is travel your passion? Or reading about travel in your lounge chair? · Do you like trying new recipes and eating…
A Lifetime of Travel
In a previous blog I shared my collection of passports —a long line of documents that began when I was sixteen. These booklets, with their photos that reveal my gradually aging face and random visa stamps in red, green, and blue, represent a lifetime of travel. I also have a large box of travel journals,…
Seven Types of Travelers. What Kind are you?
What kind of traveler are you? I don’t mean how experienced you are or if you prefer to travel locally or internationally. I’m interested in what activities and experiences make travel special for you. Recently, I got to thinking about this after I received two very different reviews of my memoir, Wherever the Road Leads,…
Two Women on a Train to Sangam. (Part 8, Return to India)
Our hotel host in Matheran had checked our train tickets and was upset to see we were booked on the slow train that stopped at every village station. “The local train will take six hours to get to Pune,” Mr. Lord had told us. “I recommend you change your tickets for the Konya Express train.…
An Indian Hill-Station Holiday (Part 7 of Return to India)
At Neral Junction, Una and I descended from our train into a different world. Gone were the crowds and filth of Mumbai. The station was a quiet oasis shaded by a striped awning. We waited there for more than an hour while trains from Mumbai came and went. There were several ways to get to…
An Early Morning Departure, (Part 6 of Return to India)
The telephone in our hotel room jangled at 4:30 am. “Yes?” I croaked into the phone. “Wake up call, Memsahib.” “Too early. We said to call at 5:30.” “So sorry! Will call again at 5:30, Memsahib.” I rolled over with a groan and pulled the sheet over my head.
Solo Women Travelers in Mumbai (Part 5 of Return to India)
After a late night, Una and I began our first day on our own in India very slowly. I spent what seemed like hours on the phone booking a driver and guide for the next day. We arranged for an Elderhostel friend, a lady who also stayed a few extra days in Mumbai, to join…
A Room with a View in Mumbai (Part 4 of Return to India)
From Mumbai on, Una and I would be women traveling on our own in India. We were both nervous and excited. I had been in charge of planning and organizing this part of our adventure. Because I retained pleasant memories of the waterfront area of Mumbai from my previous trip twenty-eight years before, I felt…