Nest: Letting Go from Italy, France, and Ireland

by Jennifer McGuire

At 46, Jen McGuire made good on a daydream. A little whisper of something that had sustained her through 25 years of raising four boys alone. She would sit in a broken down car in the school line up and think, "Europe." Pick nits our of her kids' hair, then her own afterwards and think, "Alone." Move from one rental home to another, and another, and think, "Someday." Someday she could go places. Beyond No Frills. Beyond the schoolyard. Beyond the park and the laundromat.

Someday Italy. Someday France. Someday, maybe even Ireland.

When her nest emptied, she did it. Armed with just enough money to rent a studio apartment, her laptop for remote work, and two fancy dresses she will never wear, she flew the coop and spent four months alone. For the first time ever, completely alone. And lost. And found. And lost again. And she saw a monkey. In Ireland.

Read on.

222 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 8, 2021

Reviews

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and the writer lives in Owen sound so every local description was familiar! It was a great read!

[Caroline Copp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the perfect summer reading. You will finish this book feeling as though you have made a new friend while visiting wonderful places, savouring delicious food and drinking wine right alongside the author. She has the courage to write honestly about all the feelings we have as women trying to find ourselves again once the job of raising children has come to an end. It makes me want to book a solo trip to Europe and do the same. Wonderfully fun and inspiring at the same time.

[Nick Furgiuele · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a compelling read. It's a heartfelt account of a mother's love of her kids, and the changes of life that come with their independence. It's also a funny, often touching adventure of finding human connections in off-season Italy, southern France and modern Ireland. McGuire has a deft touch with the people she meets, and brings them to life in hilarious and tearful encounters.
A great vicarious journey that brought back my own memories and will inspire many voyages of the imagination.

[Avery Ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was exactly what I felt like reading right now... escapist (I am so ready to head over to France and eat all of the food in this book!) but also funny and sentimental. I'm not a mom, but I could still identify with all of those feelings of guilt and insecurity the writer felt. I would definitely recommend this one to a friend, especially for a beach read.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and found it a quick read. Although it's about a big adventure, it's really about all the small details that make up our lives, especially the stuff that happens inside our minds and hearts and in the ways we connect with people in our lives. I connected with the author on many levels - as a single mother who raised kids on a shoestring, a long walker, and a traveler.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an honest, funny, and inspiring book. It's such a joy to follow the author on her journey through Italy, France and Ireland as you learn more about her life as a single mother who has the strength and determination to set forth and explore Europe on her own. Believe me, you will find yourself laughing out loud and you won't be able to put this book down.

[Cathie Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

You can laugh a little then cry a little as you join Jen on her travels through Europe and her memories of the trials and joys of being a single parent.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful journey through Europe and a single mother's mind.
Once you begin this adventure, you will struggle to put the book down.
I believe the author should think well of herself.

[Les Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Engaging