21 Comments

What a fabulous story, fabulously told. I love when things like this happen while you’re traveling. 😊

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Thanks Holly! Me too.

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Anna, this is all utterly scrumptious! The music, your story, the lightness of your writing. I’m completely hooked - I’ve just read the first four back to back! 🙏🏽

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Wow, thank you Susan

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I know nothing about the craft of writing, so I’m in no position to judge, except to say that I love how vivid these memoirs are, you do an amazing job of bringing it all to life. Thank you!

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Thanks, Tom!

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Delightful!

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Love this music, so great!

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Thanks Deirdre!

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Thanks for sharing the Klezmer tune! Since I’ve come across Substack I’ve often wondered, “Why is that good writing? What makes a particular piece, or author, so appealing?” I think good writing is creative and interesting (duh!), with ideas and content that are shaped into a narrative that is easy to follow, and that just “flows” nicely. <None of that, of course, is terribly original so, more specific to my tastes: I feel I am right there—I’ve “melted” into the scene with everyone else. Thank you for allowing me to “be there” with you and all the others—enjoying new, interesting people and places! I particularly like the way your conversations flow. I never have to wonder, “Who (which “character”) said that?” It’s lovely storytelling… and the little bit I’ve heard of your music, it’s lovely too. :)

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Thanks. It was fun and surprisingly easy to write something wholly light hearted. I think that’s why it “flows” probably more than a lot of my other writing.

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This is delightful, this is delicious! The only way I could imagine it being any more divine is if it were a podcast (with the music you all were making) accompanying the story. Thank you, Anna!

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Thank you, that's really nice to hear. And I'm going to take your idea and run: linking a recording!

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Oh Anna, how fantastic! What stories you have. This is just good. It’s made me want to write about crossing America in a greyhound bus in 4 days in the early 80s! And my mad adventures back then. I loved reading this. It’s a real gift❤️

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Thanks Francesca, that sounds like a wild ride... my main takeaway from Greyhound bus trips is DON'T SIT NEXT TO THE BATHROOM

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I’m so curious about where this is going!!

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I’m hoping to figure that out, myself!

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These are great adventures to read about. I loved especially the first paragraph and how you described the sudden change in the colors when you crossed into Portugal and related it to the creation of the borders.

Anna, this is compelling because you write it so well.

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Thank you

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Sounds like a hell of a time

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Incredibly well written, as always, and yet another outstanding read! I blame you for being tempted to do my own memoir vignettes, but I fear falling well short of your high marks in this space :)

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