Together Apart: Emails from the Edge

by Frank Kusy

Two worlds collide as Frank and Madge exchange edgy emails across continents.

Lost for 14 years, surprisingly rediscovered after a freak house fire, Frank and Madge’s emails between India and Kingston (London) provide a fascinating and often hilarious insight into a dawning digital world and a marriage teetering on the edge of collapse.

339 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 30, 2025

About the author

Born and raised in the fog-shrouded streets of 1960s London, and with more than 30 years of travel writing experience under his belt, aspiring Buddhist and incorrigible cat-lover Frank Kusy is a SUNDAY TRIBUNE RECOMMENDED AUTHOR and a four-time Gold Medal Winner on the Harper Collins Authonomy site. He has been awarded the AIA Awesome Indies Seal of Excellence for his flagship book 'Rupee Millionaires', and has been a featured author on several promotional sites, including BookBub, Pixel of Ink, Indie Book Bargains and FreeBooksy. His books have received international press acclaim, and have made the Kindle Top 100 List several times, his first published book, 'Kevin and I in India', climbing as high as #5. In April 2015 his children's book 'Ginger the Gangster Cat' won a Gold medal on the prestigious Wishing Shelf Independent Book Awards for 6 to 8 year olds, though this and the sequel 'Ginger the Buddha Cat' appeal as much to adults as to children.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd love to say I've read everything Frank has written, but of course I haven't, as he had a long career as a travel guide writer before becoming an author. But as this is the 14th book of his that I've read, you could probably say that I'm something of a fan of Frank's writing. This was quite an unexpected book, as it's transcriptions from emails between Frank and his wife back in the early 2000s, which were thought lost, and only rediscovered after a traumatic house fire. So welcome back to the days when there were no smartphones, and internet cafes were just starting up, when Frank was visiting India regularly to provide stock for his business in the UK, and his marriage was going through a bit of a rocky phase. Yes, these periods have been covered in his previous travel memoirs, but this is a completely different take, as it's personal conversations between a man and his wife, and gives a different and totally honest and no holds barred vision of their life, and how their relationship evolves over the years. It's also interspersed with extracts from Frank's diary which adds another dimension to the story. I loved it. If you haven't read any of Frank's previous memoirs it doesn't matter, as this is a stand alone book. But if you've read and loved them as I have, this is a glorious addition to the series. Fanks, Frank. Another fabulous buk.

[Glynis Perfect · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have never travelled to India or you are a seasoned traveller to the fascinating Sub Continent this is the book for you.
Frank Kusy gives you the India (photos included) not the 5-star tourist version or the Colonial version (my experience), but the true down to earth trip not experienced by most travellers.
By booking into local cheap hotels,travelling by public transport and pounding the chaotic steets on foot you get an insight into how real Indians live, communicate, go about their businesses and domestic lives surviving with humour and kindness and sheer hard work.
Frank captures the true sights and smells of India their way of life so different from ours but utterly charming and amusing.

The way we get to know about India and Thailand isn't a monologue of places and events as per the usual travel book format but written in Emails between him and his long suffering wife. Their marriage was crumbling after years apart with his travels, the loss of his beloved Mother which left him so traumatised that he resorted to drugs, prescription and others that were readily available. They helped him to sleep and cope with the demands of his lifestyle as a travel writer and then a businessman which inadvertently put a tremendous strain on his marriage as an addiction developed.
A relationship which started off in a very companionable and fun loving way, was showing cracks. Madge,his wife, an Academic had to endure the strains and demands of her career a demanding cat,her sickly Mother and life on her own most of the time. It wasn't the ideal way to maintain a sound and loving marriage.
The coming of the Internet was the saving of their relationship and marriage as we are allowed the privilege of seeing through very private Diaries and Emails found after their tragic house fire. Their communication is on a practically daily basis. Living miles apart, their love for each other starts to blossom.
You will feel very emotional at times but there is so much to laugh about and learn.
I have read all Frank Kusy's travel books finding them not just informative but very entertaining.
Being an avid traveller myself his view of India, Nepal and Thailand are far more off the beaten track than mine.
I have to admit that this current book of his captivated and had me more emotionally moved than any of his other wonderful escapades.
Give it a try, you have much more to gain except that you won't want it to end.

[Valerie Poore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read several of Frank Kusy’s books but in none of them, apart from the Covid Chronicles, have I felt the affection between him and his wife, Madge, as much as I have in this one. In this book of email exchanges over a number of Frank’s trips to India and Bankok, the reader experiences the early tension and resentment of misunderstandings at several thousand miles’ distance but then the growing appreciation for each other the couple have. In many ways, this is a love story in which they rediscover their mutual fond feelings, and the reader is privileged to be part of their journey. Meanwhile, I learned more about India and its customs and people than I have ever known, as well as what it is to be a traveller alone in Thailand. The fascinating and often funny tales of Frank’s friendships and relationships with his suppliers are counterbalanced by Madge’s life as a university lecturer back in England with only manic moggies for company. This book is touching, lively, funny and poignant. I loved the dialogues and the character studies Frank and Madge both paint and I thoroughly enjoyed reading their daily emails to each other. I somehow feel we have lost this art of vivid letter writing, so it was a joy to read theirs. Thank you, Frank, for a wonderfully vivid and compelling read!