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Joy: Life Lessons from a Tuscan Villa
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
Looking for the keys to a vibrant, joyful, vital life? Lifestyle pioneer Debbie Travis has found them in the Tuscan hills. And in her lively, inspiring way, she shares how to bring all that healthful magic home in Joy, a glorious book infused with the warmth and colour of life at the Villa Reniella, the thirteenth-century farmhouse retreat to which she welcomes guests from around the world.
For more than ten years, Debbie Travis has watched the guests who come to her Tuscan retreats transform over the course of a single week of talking, walking, and eating together, until even the most driven and stressed-out feel so much better about themselves. When it's time to leave, they tell her it's the simple priorities of Tuscan life--the way the village locals, from young to old, take time for each other every day--that hit them in their hearts, and they pepper her with questions about how to retain what they've experienced when they get home.
In Joy, Debbie offers the answers she gives them to all of us, capturing the essentials of the Tuscan lifestyle in a series of ten engaging and practical lessons--on everything from how to get a good night's sleep, to how to find community and rediscover purpose, to how to eat and drink like an Italian--designed to make our lives sweeter and healthier. Delightfully down-to-earth, Debbie draws on her own life experience, the example of her Tuscan neighbours, whose fabled longevity springs from the wisdom she captures in her lessons, and the expertise of her long-time friend and colleague, nutritional therapist Jacky Brown. Whether you wish to hit the reset button, start a new endeavour, regain your confidence, turn a page in your relationship, make changes to your worklife or your community, or simply reboot your vitality, these lessons will help guide you to a life filled with joy.
Looking for the keys to a vibrant, joyful, vital life? Lifestyle pioneer Debbie Travis has found them in the Tuscan hills. And in her lively, inspiring way, she shares how to bring all that healthful magic home in Joy, a glorious book infused with the warmth and colour of life at the Villa Reniella, the thirteenth-century farmhouse retreat to which she welcomes guests from around the world.
For more than ten years, Debbie Travis has watched the guests who come to her Tuscan retreats transform over the course of a single week of talking, walking, and eating together, until even the most driven and stressed-out feel so much better about themselves. When it's time to leave, they tell her it's the simple priorities of Tuscan life--the way the village locals, from young to old, take time for each other every day--that hit them in their hearts, and they pepper her with questions about how to retain what they've experienced when they get home.
In Joy, Debbie offers the answers she gives them to all of us, capturing the essentials of the Tuscan lifestyle in a series of ten engaging and practical lessons--on everything from how to get a good night's sleep, to how to find community and rediscover purpose, to how to eat and drink like an Italian--designed to make our lives sweeter and healthier. Delightfully down-to-earth, Debbie draws on her own life experience, the example of her Tuscan neighbours, whose fabled longevity springs from the wisdom she captures in her lessons, and the expertise of her long-time friend and colleague, nutritional therapist Jacky Brown. Whether you wish to hit the reset button, start a new endeavour, regain your confidence, turn a page in your relationship, make changes to your worklife or your community, or simply reboot your vitality, these lessons will help guide you to a life filled with joy.
- GenresNonfictionAudiobook
336 pages, Hardcover
Published November 2, 2021
13 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
About the author
Debbie Travis
20 books6 followersHome designer, television host and producer, best-selling author, sought-after public speaker, and host of Tuscan getaways at her personal villa.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 19, 2022
Loved this book. It set out to entice, educate, excite the reader about all things Tuscan with the Debbie Travis vibe. Mission accomplished.
If you want to disappear in a visually lovely, realistically written book that is about all things positive and supportive - give this a try.
It has excerpts on cooking (simple), lifestyle, health (mental and physical) and wellbeing. She doesn't oversell her Villa. Her muses on her personal journey are sentimental, humble and joyful.
I like this lady.
If you want to disappear in a visually lovely, realistically written book that is about all things positive and supportive - give this a try.
It has excerpts on cooking (simple), lifestyle, health (mental and physical) and wellbeing. She doesn't oversell her Villa. Her muses on her personal journey are sentimental, humble and joyful.
I like this lady.
November 30, 2024
I love learning about the Italian way of life. I wish we placed the same importance on community here in Canada as the Italians do. This book made me want to invite a whole bunch of people over and make jam. Or cook. Or both!
April 22, 2022
In a complicated world and restrained travel this book is a wonderful escape to another way of life.
Debbie Travis summarizes a series of lessons designed to optimize joy learned from observing her community in Tuscany. I approach lifestyle and self improvement books with a light touch - if there are one or two insightful gems then it's time well spent. Is it new material? Not entirely, but presented in the context of the Tuscany lifestyle is a unique presentation.
Full disclosure I have a nutrition degree so I read the book's tips on diet with interest and curiosity but don't necessarily fully subscribe to all the information shared. The analogy of a ladder of emotional states was very helpful as were the practical insights into improving everyday life.
Will I fit in an afternoon nap? Maybe not, but the encouragement to build a tribe at any age and stage of life was a good reminder of the importance of connection. The author's thoughtful and encouraging style was a refreshing break.
A light and delightful escape to Tuscany.
Debbie Travis summarizes a series of lessons designed to optimize joy learned from observing her community in Tuscany. I approach lifestyle and self improvement books with a light touch - if there are one or two insightful gems then it's time well spent. Is it new material? Not entirely, but presented in the context of the Tuscany lifestyle is a unique presentation.
Full disclosure I have a nutrition degree so I read the book's tips on diet with interest and curiosity but don't necessarily fully subscribe to all the information shared. The analogy of a ladder of emotional states was very helpful as were the practical insights into improving everyday life.
Will I fit in an afternoon nap? Maybe not, but the encouragement to build a tribe at any age and stage of life was a good reminder of the importance of connection. The author's thoughtful and encouraging style was a refreshing break.
A light and delightful escape to Tuscany.
March 16, 2022
Tips throughout the book on how to take Tuscany home provide some good advice for living la dolce vita.
I like the tip about drinking espresso just before taking a short nap in the afternoon. The caffeine is timed to kick in just as you are waking up. Perfetto!
Some great recipes and nutritional advice.
A trip to one of the wellness weeks would set you back about $10K, though the book doesn't offer the same experiences of making pasta and visiting olive or lemon groves, it's still a fun escape.
I like the tip about drinking espresso just before taking a short nap in the afternoon. The caffeine is timed to kick in just as you are waking up. Perfetto!
Some great recipes and nutritional advice.
A trip to one of the wellness weeks would set you back about $10K, though the book doesn't offer the same experiences of making pasta and visiting olive or lemon groves, it's still a fun escape.
September 24, 2022
I listened to this as an audiobook so was unable to appreciate the many recipes offered throughout. The advice makes sense and she has included the science behind why the lifestyle changes work. Not exactly what I was expecting but glad to have read it.
March 21, 2022
Good life lessons to remember and great recipes
June 12, 2022
The recipes sounded delicious so I’m going to get a hard copy of this book. Looking forward to seeing the images.
August 14, 2022
Some simple advice, beautiful photos and well written. Enjoyable escape.
September 14, 2022
Great coffee table book filled with beautiful images and great life lesson to instil joy in your life. A book to reference again and again.
April 17, 2025
Great ideas to be more healtly and happy!
April 16, 2025
A beautiful book from cover to cover, filled with joy and calming food for thought. I was my second time reading it. Loved it even more! The photography is spectacular.
May 7, 2023
Joy is a lovely book. It is a combination coffee table book (the pictures), cookbook and self-help book. I enjoyed the way Travis put together self-help tips with a commentary on the Tuscan lifestyle and how it seems to produce so many healthy, happy people.
The reason I gave this book only three stars, is that other than the way it is framed within Tuscany, the information itself is not new to me. I follow a lot of lifestyle and health articles through my news feed and the ideas expressed here come up on a regular basis. Find community, move, eat a healthy diet, sleep well, have a positive attitude.
None of this takes away from my excitement at visiting Villa Reniella myself. I'm sure living the Tuscan lifestyle in Tuscany for a week will be fabulous!
The reason I gave this book only three stars, is that other than the way it is framed within Tuscany, the information itself is not new to me. I follow a lot of lifestyle and health articles through my news feed and the ideas expressed here come up on a regular basis. Find community, move, eat a healthy diet, sleep well, have a positive attitude.
None of this takes away from my excitement at visiting Villa Reniella myself. I'm sure living the Tuscan lifestyle in Tuscany for a week will be fabulous!
September 11, 2022
3.5 Good escape read to Italy, beautiful photos.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews