My (Part-Time) Paris Life—The Memoir
Poignant. A fresh voice." —Booklist
MY (PART-TIME) PARIS LIFE: HOW RUNNING AWAY BROUGHT ME HOME
A Memoir of Hope and Renewal in the City of Light
by Lisa Anselmo
4.4 out of 5 stars on Amazon. Poignant, touching, and lively, this memoir of a woman who loses her mother and creates a new life for herself in Paris will speak to anyone who has lost a parent or reinvented themselves. Lisa Anselmo wrapped her entire life around her mother, a strong woman who was a defining force in her daughter’s life―maybe too defining. When her mother dies from breast cancer, Lisa realizes she hadn’t built a life of her own, and struggles to find her purpose. Who is she without her mother―and her mother’s expectations?
Desperate for answers, she reaches for a lifeline in the form of an apartment in Paris, refusing to play it safe for the first time. What starts out as a lurching act of survival sets Lisa on a course that reshapes her life in ways she never could have imagined. But how can you imagine a life bigger than anything you’ve ever known?
In the vein of Eat, Pray, Love and Wild, My (Part-Time) Paris Life is for anyone who’s ever felt lost or hopeless, but still holds out hope of something more. This candid memoir explores one woman’s search for peace and meaning, and how the ups and downs of expat life in Paris taught her to let go of fear, find self-worth, and create real, lasting happiness.
Published by Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press
Praise for My (Part-Time) Paris Life
“A poignant meditation on self-love, maternal loss — and the restorative force that is Paris.” —Jennifer Coburn, author of We’ll Always Have Paris
“Beautifully crafted. This book feels as if Lisa Anselmo is telling you her Paris story over coffee at a café."
—Janice MacLeod, author of the New York Times Best Seller Paris Letters
"Brave, honest, and endearing."
—Samantha Vérant, author of Seven Letters from Paris and How to Make a French Family
“Leading with her heart, Lisa takes us inside the “real” Paris: the Paris of intermittent ecstasy and agony, triumph and frustration, magic and dysfunction. Her honesty, vulnerability and simple joie de vivre through the journey make it a pleasurable trip indeed.”
—Amy Thomas, author of Paris My Sweet: A Year in the City of Light (and Dark Chocolate)
“Lisa Anselmo’s tale of striving and self-discovery is proof of the magical magnetism of the City of Light.”
—David Downie, author of A Passion for Paris: Romanticism and Romance in the City of Light