Let’s meet tomorrow in D.C.
+ a moment of gratitude for YOU, dear reader
In this newsletter: a moment of gratitude and an invitation to my next book event in D.C. If you’ve found your way here but are not yet subscribed, here, let me help you with that (it’s free):
My travel memoir, CALL YOU WHEN I LAND, was born on November 7th, 2023, entering the world at 288 pages and 5.26 x 0.69 x 7.97 inches. Since my book landed, I‘ve been swept up in a thrilling ride, watching as readers react, embrace, and reach out about my words. From being named a best women’s memoir by Glamour Magazine to being selected as a Staff Pick by Apple Books and a recommended read by Good Morning America, Forbes, Cosmopolitan, Real Simple, and more—the arrival of my travel memoir has been nothing short of magical. But of all the sparkling moments I’ve enjoyed since its arrival, there’s one in particular I’d like to share.
I began my book tour on November 7th, kicking it off with a launch event at one of my favorite local book shops, the WORD bookstore in Brooklyn. From there, I made my way to Boston and onto Chicago, where I met a woman whom I had never met before. This woman had been walking past the Book Cellar that evening, following a dinner with her partner, when she noticed a group of people inside the store having an event. Being a lover of books, she popped in and stumbled upon my Chicago book event.
Standing in line for a signed copy, clutching my book in hand, she swelled with pride as she told me how she’d accidentally come across the event and felt as though it had been fate. She explained how she is an aspiring travel writer trying to get her foot in the industry and how stumbling across my book, detailing my own journey to becoming a travel writer, seemed magically fortuitous. She then leaned in, eyes glistening with tears, and told me how as a Latina woman, it meant the world to her to see a fellow Latina sharing a travel memoir. How in the pantheon of popular travel memoirs—Cheryl Strayed’s Wild, Kristin Newman’s What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding, Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love—she was elated to see a Colombian immigrant penning her own story.
Her words made my breath catch and her emotions flooded my heart with love. Women’s memoir is one of my favorite genre of books because of how honest, messy, candid, and inspiring they can be. What I love about these stories—especially those from everyday women—is how their vulnerability becomes our strength, how their evolution become our inspiration, and how their stories become our stories to hold however we need to. Listening to this woman’s words, I was reminded of how CALL YOU WHEN I LAND was no longer my story but hers and yours now. My job as its author was simply to ferry the book into existence, giving its pages everything I have in the hopes that you, dear reader, will find the inspiration needed for your own life.
As we enter December and my book enters its second month of existence, I want to express my utmost gratitude to YOU. To everyone who bought my book, shared my memoir with a family member or friend, reached out to tell me their thoughts, or took photos of my book featured at Hudson News across airports, or at their local bookshop—thank you. My story is now your story. Thank you for welcoming it into your life.
I’m currently writing this newsletter from terminal B at New York’s LaGaurdia Airport, as I wait for my flight to Washington D.C. If you’re based in Washington D.C., I’d love to invite you to my book event tomorrow evening at the landmark indie bookstore, Kramers in DuPont Circle! I’ll be joined by the founder of Global Debauchery and the leader of the Wanderful D.C. Chapter, Jordan Campbell. If you love books, travel, and inspiring conversation, then I hope to see you tomorrow evening!
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