Reluctant Tuscan by Phil Doran

Written by Jennifer Redmond

Books

Motion sickness is an unfortunate tendency I share with two of my children. We feel the jolt of the plane/train/automobile and there go the innards. Thus, my husband learned years ago not to ask me to locate any destination on a map (not that I can actually read one accurately anyway) without risking a quick stop. Reading while in motion is really not advisable.

So when I admit that I fought nausea in the car for hours just because I couldn't put down a book, it's a profound compliment to the author. Kudos to you, Phil Doran, for not only writing the (near) antidote for the queasies, but for making me, and certainly every other reader, laugh out loud with every page turn.

The plan was to take a friend's advice and read Doran's The Reluctant Tuscan during a recent getaway. If the book was really good, I'd whip up a full book review for the "Picks" section of Inspired Mother. But once I picked up the book I simply couldn't put it down. I'll still do a more detailed review, but I couldn't wait to tell moms to find this book now! It's an intelligently witty look at the reality of life in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Having some firsthand experience with my own extensive Italian family, I found every riotous incident in Doran's account of his inaugural life in Tuscany like a visit with a long-lost relative. For those without genetic ties to "the boot," the subtitle of The Reluctant Tuscan is "how I discovered my inner Italian," a big clue that everyone can appreciate this true story of an unwilling transplant from LA. When his wife purchases an ancient wreck of a house in Tuscany, he embarks on a tumultuous relationship with virtually everyone he encounters, including his spouse.

I won't claim that it'll stave off full-fledged motion sickness for everyone, but either way the ride with The Reluctant Tuscan is a lot of fun.