Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Book Review: An Ocean, an Airplane, and Two Countries Full of Kisses

One of the great joys of blogging is meeting fellow travelers along the road who share similar loves and lives. I have several blogging friends with all sons and several who share my joint passions of books and boys. I cannot remember precisely how I met Maria Novajosky (known in comments as Bia). Perhaps it was through Rachel Balducci's mommy blog Testosterhome (for her excellent video on mothering boys, click here - I especially benefited from the 7:10 minute point, where she talks about asking God to show you the positive side of the strong challenging characteristics in your sons). Or perhaps it was through another mommy blog I used to follow regularly (this mom had 10 kids, lived on a beautiful mountain, and wrote fascinating posts, yet I haven't visited it in years). Maybe she saw one of my comments on another blog (back in the day, I used to stay up until 2 a.m. reading and responding to blog posts). But we connected easily because she has three sons, contemplates spiritual subjects, and is a writer. Visit Maria's blog, La Dolce Vita: The Sweet Life With Three Sons, for bits of poetry (infinitely better than mine), dashes of son love, contemplations on faith, and musings on Southern hospitality.

When I discovered Maria had published a book, I was both green and greedy. I wanted it, but was trying to cut back on book-spending. Thus, I waited until Christmas and put it on my list for my husband (not always a sure bet). Thankfully, it was under the tree and even made my list of top gifts of the season.




An Ocean, An Airplane, and Two Countries Full of Kisses is a love letter to family and faith, to tradition and travel. In the book, we meet Maria's dear Nonna, who embodies faith, food, Italy, letter writing, and love. What a rich heritage Maria has! What a blessed life she's lived! And the reader gets to pull up a chair, pour a glass of wine, open a jar of Nutella, and get to know her more intimately. I would love to join one of her tours of Italy (she takes groups of women and shares her beloved Nonna's mother country) or even sit on her back porch in Georgia and pass hours talking about God's marvelous blessings.

Every time I pass this local restaurant sign, I think of Maria and her love of Italy and Nutella:


3 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you, Wendy, for your kind words (which, truthfully, made me teary).

And I think we first connected over at Lisa Davis' site, Are We There Yet?

YOu have been the source of so many book suggestions, and for that I am grateful. I hope we can meet one day!

Unknown said...

The above was from me, Maria.

Wendy Hill said...

Maria - Yes, I haven't kept up with Are We There Yet, but marveled to see the age change when I looked it up - kids grown with kids of their own - it happens in a blink, doesn't it? Thanks for your virtual friendship - I, too, look forward to a day when we can possibly meet in real life. Loved your book - do keep writing!