Chaucer’s In-Store Book Event

Sunday, March 2 at 3:00 PM

Chaucer’s Bookstore 3321 State Street Santa Barbara. 805-682-6787

Chaucer’s Books hosts author Barbara Boyle hosts author Barbara Boyle for a book talk and signing of her book, Pinch Me: Waking Up in a 300-Year-Old Italian Farmhouse.

Description

Newly retired from her career as a Worldwide Creative Director in advertising, on a small tour of Europe, Barbara Boyle came upon the ancient Italian hill town of Monforte d’Alba, now a thriving village in the lesser traveled region of Piemonte. There, Boyle encountered castles perched atop the hills, stone farmhouses with neat little gardens set amongst endless rows of vineyards, and a community of handsome, sensible, and uncommonly generous people. Enchanted by the sweeping vistas reaching out to the Alps, captivated by the region’s unique cuisine, confounded by its extraordinary culture of kindness, she woke up, and looking out over the valleys, found herself longing to be there in her own home, drinking her coffee and watching the sunrise.

This is the story of how Boyle and her husband leave their busy and familiar lives behind in San Francisco and begin taking apart a 300-year-old stone barn to build a new home, a new life, in Italy. It is a story filled with discoveries, disappointments, pleasures, frustrations and triumphs. And given the gastronomic excellence of the region, she would be remiss if she did not share a few recipes as well. In the end, it proves to be a journey that allows Boyle to see the world, as well as herself, through a different window; a memoir filled with food, friendships, and scenes of Italy, of love and of the powerful joy that comes from building a dream. –  Courtesy of the author.

About the Author

For years, Barbara Boyle enjoyed a colorful worldwide career as a Creative Director at Saatchi &Saatchi, Grey, Lowe and other advertising agencies, creating commercials and stories for Procter& Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Mars Inc, and dozens of other marketers. Always a writer, this is the first time she has had the time required to author a book. Her flash fiction has appeared in Sky Island Journal, Star 82 Review, Flash Fiction Magazine, and other literary journals. Food and wine have also been a lifelong passion of hers. While living in Paris, she took the Regional French Cuisine course at Le Cordon Bleu and later completed the professional cooking course at The Institute of Culinary Education in New York. She now resides in a farmhouse in Piemonte, Italy with her husband, Kim, surrounded by orchards, vineyards and barking deer, and maintains a home in San Francisco.