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Susan J. Bocock

Goodreads Author

Born

in Vancouver, Canada

Website

https://www.susanjbocockauthor.com/

Genre

Travel, Memoir, Historical Fiction

Influences

travel, Italy, Italian language, yoga,

Member Since

November 2016

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/susanjbocockauthor

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I'm a retired lawyer, a former yoga teacher, and a sports enthusiast who loves to travel, read, write, and repeat. I've had a passion for Italy since I first met Italians on the soccer pitch many years ago, and through Italian language classes and annual trips to Italy, that fascination turned into a full-fledged love affair with the country and enduring friendships with people I met along the way.

My recent travel memoir, Italy Through the Rear-View Mirror, was motivated by my extended travels through the 20 regions of Italy over a 15-year span. My legal background fed my inquiring mind, as did my passion for travel, which I blogged about for several years.

The book weaves together relatable, heart-warming, and humorous stories focused on ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Susan J. Bocock WRITE! Pour out what you are are thinking, what you want to say. Don't worry about anything except getting it on the page. At least to start. For me i…moreWRITE! Pour out what you are are thinking, what you want to say. Don't worry about anything except getting it on the page. At least to start. For me it's an iterative process. I need to write, then reflect, then see how the elements of the story start to come together. At that point I try and get my thoughts organized into a more cohesive framework. And all the while I am searching for aspects of the story I want to tell that support the theme. Maybe you start with a theme, or maybe, like me, that didn't come until later in the process. But once you are clear on the theme, it will be a lot easier to write around that. (less)

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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Susan J. Bocock ITALY THROUGH THE REAR-VIEW MIRROR was definitely a labour of love. The more I travelled through Italy, the more I fell in love with everything about …moreITALY THROUGH THE REAR-VIEW MIRROR was definitely a labour of love. The more I travelled through Italy, the more I fell in love with everything about it. This is certainly not an uncommon occurrence. Of course there are aspects of this somewhat chaotic country that can drive anyone crazy, but I'm not sure I've met anyone who hasn't enjoyed their experience.

I had blogged about my travels for a number of years, and decided that I wanted to capture the full experience in one place. However it wasn't until I was reading a book by Brene' Brown that I began to fully understand the grasp that Italy had on me. As I write in the preface of my book:

"Then one day I picked up a book by the inspirational speaker and writer, Brené Brown, It was about connection and belonging, a surprising place to find the theme I had been unable to articulate. But there it was. As Brown put it, ‘We are different in many ways, but underneath it all we are deeply connected.’ I was going to have to do a lot more reading to understand why, but I knew instantly that this sentence spoke directly to the hold Italy had on me. I also knew that while Italy was my teacher, and the vehicle that helped me understand how deeply we are all connected, that undeniable sense of connection was the more compelling story I wanted to explore."
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Susan J. Bocock’s books

Average rating: 4.75 · 12 ratings · 7 reviews · 1 distinct work

Italy Through the Rear-View Mirror: Finding Connection and Belonging
by

Susan J. Bocock (Goodreads Author),

Tina Pentland (Editor)

4.75 avg rating — 12 ratings — 2 editions

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7 posts
Susan J. Bocock's Blog

My Impromptu Italian Book Tour-part 3

Part 3 - Gatta Morena book signing and a couple of side trips

In my last blog post we were enjoying lunch at Casala Gatta Morena in northern Lazio, a place I had stayed several times and made special friends who I wrote about in my book, Italy Through the Rear-View Mirror. While 2 of the couples that we were travelling with headed home after our lengthy, Italian-style pranzo, Gord and I chose to st Read more of this blog post »

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Published on April 19, 2022 18:46

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Susan is Currently Reading

Susan Bocock is currently reading

The Portrait of a Lady

by Henry James

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Mar 10, 2023 05:05PM

Susan Bocock is currently reading

Careless People: Murder, Mayhem, and the Invention of The Great Gatsby

by Sarah Churchwell (Goodreads Author)

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Apr 17, 2022 04:04PM

Topics Mentioning This Author

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Goodreads Authors...: * Welcome Memoir Authors and Readers!	700	2918	Apr 15, 2026 06:27PM

Susan’s Quotes

“Life offers you a thousand chances... all you have to do is take one.”
― Frances Mayes, Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy

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“Any arbitrary turning along the way and I would be elsewhere; I would be different.”
― Frances Mayes, Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy

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Susan’s Groups

Goodreads Authors/Readers — 56749 members — last activity 4 hours, 34 min ago
This group is dedicated to connecting readers with Goodreads authors. It is divided by genres, and includes folders for writing resources, book websit ...more

Goodreads Italia — 25268 members — last activity 1 hour, 12 min ago
Goodreads Italia è un luogo d'incontro per gli utenti italiani e italofoni della piattaforma Goodreads. Il gruppo, nato nel 2010 e in costante evoluz ...more

Oprah's Book Club (Official) — 86767 members — last activity May 29, 2026 08:01AM
Welcome to the official Oprah's Book Club group. OBC is the interactive, multi-platform reading club bringing passionate readers together to discuss i ...more

CanadianContent — 773 members — last activity May 10, 2026 03:51AM
A Group to talk about books written by Canadian authors - beware - your TBR pile will grow dramatically!

Reese's Book Club x Hello Sunshine — 175922 members — last activity 45 minutes ago
Hey Y’all, We’ve been reading together for awhile and we don’t know about you, but we’re ready to hear your thoughts and opinions. This group is a pl ...more

Read With Jenna (Official) — 32396 members — last activity 10 hours, 50 min ago
When anyone on the TODAY team is looking for a book recommendation, there is only one person to turn to: Jenna Bush Hager. Jenna will select a book a ...more

Memoir Authors — 1324 members — last activity May 28, 2026 06:43AM
A group for those who have written or are busy writing a memoir - let's share experiences. ...more

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