Jubilant Journeys

by Connie Spenuzza

Stow away with international award-winning author Connie Spenuzza, MSEd, as she chronicles a dreamer and a pragmatist's soulful journey around the world. Married in 1979, Connie and Peter shared wanderlust and immense curiosity, a determination to chart the course of their own lives, and the motivation to prove the naysayers and gatekeepers wrong. Follow the Spenuzza family, armed with genealogical facts and family legends, as they begin their quixotic search for a specific ancestor, the scribe aboard the famed Pinta in 1492. Experience the ambrosial scent of melted chocolate wafting from a tiny confectionary in the Basque country of Spain and discover the magic of travel serendipity that led Spenuzza and her family on a quest across oceans and time―from the modern Wonders of the World back to those of antiquity. Spenuzza will take you on an exhilarating fifty-year odyssey across 125 countries, where she saw her youthful exuberance mature into a quest for the spiritual depths of the inner world. With the finesse of an eccentric goldsmith, Spenuzza solders her experiences with a suspicious shaman from Chichen Itza, Mexico, to the Andean Earth Mother of Machu Picchu, and links them to the engravings of the sixteenth-century German artist Albrecht Dürer. Decade after decade, follow their gold thread as it extends from Byblos of antiquity to the mosque of the booksellers in Marrakesh to the stone apsaras of Angkor Wat. Bask in the radiant glow of wanderlust serendipity that the Spenuzzas have captured in the bottle of their hearts.

256 pages, Hardcover

Published June 4, 2019

About the author

Connie Spenuzza M.S. Ed., received First Place from the International Latino Book Awards for her novels Lucia Zárate (2017), Missing in Machu Picchu (2013) and Traces of Bliss (2012). Her travel memoir Jubilant Journeys (2019) was awarded Second Place, following first place winner and Nobel Peace Prize nominee José Andrés. The Association of American Publishers and the Las Comadres International organization selected her novels to the National Latino Book Club. In 2017, Foreword Reviews selected Lucía Zárate as Indie Book Finalist, Parisian Promises (2014) was the runner-up for the Paris Book Award and Gathering the Indigo Maidens (2011) was a finalist for the Mariposa Award. Her children’s bilingual fables: Olinguito Speaks Up was endorsed by the Smithsonian Institution, Lalo Loves to Help, and Howl of the Mission Owl have received numerous awards. Her pen name for the works above is Cecilia Velástegui. Her 2021 art history book: Spanish Colonial Paintings Paired with European Engravings, debuted with an immersive multimedia exhibit at the California landmark Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Connie was born in Ecuador and raised in California and France. She received her graduate degree from the University of Southern California, speaks four languages, and has traveled to 127 countries. Connie donates the proceeds from the sale of her books to the fight against human trafficking. She lives in Dana Point, California.

Reviews

[J. d'Merricksson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jubilant Journeys is a travelogue memoir spanning decades, detailing the travel adventures of Connie and Peter Spenuzza. The stories are not strictly chronological. Rather, they follow their own delightful meandering path through the narrative of the chapter. Many of the tales revolve around genealogical research into Connie's family and ancestors. In searching relentlessly for information about Ojer Velastegui over the many years, the Spenuzza family connected threads from past to present, and into the future, and fostered their own children's’ curiosity. It stoked my own curiosity into my lineage. I know my ancestors came from Great Britain and Germanic areas. 'Celtic Vikings’ as my sister jokes. From the British Isles, it's mostly Welsh and Irish, and it's that ancestry that made California feel like home the first time I was ever out here. Mountains and ocean side by side. One day I hope to visit Wales, visit Snowdonia.

I really liked the Italian quote that comes right before reaching Chapter Six-
Mesma faccia, mesma razza, meaning 'same face, same race’. I take a different personal view of the phrase. Instead of similar features suggesting a relationship, I see it as a nice reminder that we are all human. No matter the culture, creed, or colour of skin, we all share more in common than we have true differences, because we are all of the species- Homo sapiens sapiens. I love the quote from Peter that followed not far behind this one in the chapter. Being Californian myself, I agree!

‘We’re Californian. We have all the people in the world in our state-- and we love it that way.’ ~Peter Spenuzza

I love the author’s description of place, and her ability to evoke the certain kind of nostalgia tied to history. I so grok her 'stone whispering’. Ancient places, even historical places, speak to the archaeologist in me, which often inspires my poetry. I enjoyed reading about her cataloging of exotic sensory experiences that are filed away for future use in novel writing. Part of their travels were for research in writing historical novels. I've reviewed one previous book by the author. Now I want to check out the others!

Recommended for those with the travel bug, an interest in travel memoir, or just plain good story weaving!

***Many thanks to the author for providing an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. Reviewed for the San Francisco Book Review.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

“To travel is to live.” Here is a statement that Peter and Connie Spenuzza live by whole-heartedly. In her memoir, "Jubilant Journeys", Connie tells of many of their adventures and memorable moments while traveling as a family overseas. Originally from a very prestigious family in Ecuador, Connie chose to break from the mold of an arranged marriage and life that would be far from exciting or desirerable. At a young age, Connie developed a love for learning and traveling. When she got older, she left and lived in France for several years, then ended up in southern California, where she met her husband, Peter. The two married and began traveling the world, learning life lessons with their two sons. Her narrative starts with their traveling to research her ancestry overseas, with the surprising pleasure of finding distant relatives. Throughout her stories, she speaks highly of family and love, and works diligently to immerse herself in the culture of the area she is visiting to fully understand the reasoning for the people’s thoughts and actions. Spenuzza does not have anything less than wonderful things to say about the areas she has traveled, so this is a must-read for people interested in traveling the world or who need help knowing where to start.
The way Spenuzza speaks and writes her adventures is breathtaking and puts the reader right in the story to relate to and enjoy her experiences. You can tell that Connie and her family have a love for travel and have experienced wonders of the world many times over. I appreciated the additional historical and mythical information she would give within the stories; many I had never heard, which led me to do some extra research. The people she references make the stories more interesting, especially when you understand the culture of the area they are visiting. With many of her stories being uplifting and ceremonious, it was interesting to read the stories that were a little different, such as the two involving the “shape-shifters;” a little frightening! With fifty years of travel, the Spenuzzas have eaten, seen, and done things that the majority of the world will not do in a lifetime, and for that, they are truly blessed and are humbly aware of their good fortune. Knowing she is the author of other books, I would be very interested in reading more and would love to meet this world traveler!