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This is my friend Gemma. Isn't she pretty? I love that smile. She's been a loyal reader since the very beginning, always demanding new posts, eating my leftovers (we lived two floors apart from each other for a few years in Queens) and bugging me about when I'd ever get around to writing a book. Oh pshaw, I'd reply and get back to baking cookies or making pizza or whatever I had to do that evening for dinner. I'd feel flattered and a little embarrassed too, but mostly I didn't think I had it in me at all. So consider me the most surprised of anyone that I did do it in the end. I did it! I wrote a book!

It has been, no joke, one of the biggest thrills of my life to hear and see, via Twitter and Facebook and emails and Instagram (I'm @wednesdaychef there), the book landing on all your front steps this week. I can't stop pinching myself. I have loved hearing your first impressions and seeing the recipes appear as finished dishes in your kitchens. Actually, even more than loving it, it has been blowing my mind. How is this my life?

And tomorrow we start the first leg of our crazy journey, baby in tow, across the pond. (Pleasegodlethimsleep.)

This is where I'll be reading over the next two weeks:

Friday, September 21st, 7:00 pm:
LOS ANGELES, CA – Vroman's Bookstore

Saturday, September 22nd, 2:30 pm:
SAN DIEGO, CA – Adventures by the Book, Westgate Hotel

Monday, September 24, 7:00 pm:
SEATTLE, WA – University Bookstore. Bonus: Tara Austen Weaver will be hosting this!

Tuesday, September 25th, 7:30 pm:
PORTLAND, OR – Powell's Books

Wednesday, September 26th, 6:00 pm:
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Book Passage

Thursday, September 27, 12:00 pm
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Rakestraw Books

Thursday, September 27, 7:00 pm:
SANTA CRUZ, CA – Bookshop Santa Cruz

Sunday, September 30, 5:00 pm:
WASHINGTON, DC – Politics & Prose

Monday, October 1, 7:00 pm:
NEW YORK, NY – Powerhouse Arena

Tuesday, October 2, 7:00 pm:
BOSTON, MA – Harvard Book Store

Can't wait to see you there. And to give my friend up there with the shiny eyes a big old hug. Living up to someone else's hopes for you is a pretty spectacular feeling. Living up to something you never in a million years thought you could do is stratospheric.

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61 responses to “My Berlin Kitchen – Away We Go!”

  1. dancing kitchen Avatar
    dancing kitchen

    So great meeting you today!

    Like

  2. NJ Moving Avatar

    I wish you all the best and I’m so eager to read it.

    Like

  3. pamela thompson Avatar

    Luisa,
    just finished my copy and am reviewing it on my blog. Look for the review this week. Pamela Thompson

    Like

  4. paris hotel Avatar

    So thrilled for your huge accomplishment and purchased the book immediately! GO JUMBOS!! congrats!! suy.
    +1

    Like

  5. Tammy Avatar
    Tammy

    Hi Luisa! Can’t wait to meet you on Wednesday in Portland for the AM Northwest show! I’m one of the show’s producers…and subscribe to your blog too! I love it when I get to book people I feel like I already know so well. Wednesday will be the best day ever!

    Like

  6. kirsten Avatar
    kirsten

    Just finished the book (in 2 sittings over the weekend) and absolutely loved it! My girlfriends and I are so looking forward to seeing you in DC on Sunday!!

    Like

  7. Sonna Avatar
    Sonna

    Danke für dieses wunderschöne, inspirierende und herzwärmende Buch, Luisa! Wenn man in Berlin lebt so wie ich, ist es toll, diese Stadt aus einem so anderen Blickwinkel zu sehen. Vielen Dank nochmals und alles Gute für euch drei!

    Like

  8. Kimberley Avatar
    Kimberley

    Dear Luisa,
    I found your blog just when you had decided to move to Berlin – the post “Leap and a Net Will Appear” was the first one I read, and made quite an impression. I have enjoyed your posts and your recipes – your chicken curry is one of our favorites – and was excited to pre-order your book when I could. It came in the mail last week and I devoured it in a few days, during my son’s naps and staying up late. It was moving and beautiful and thoughtful and thought-provoking. We have just moved across the US, away from a city that was my home for twelve years, and reading your struggles with settling in to a new place really resonated with me. Thank you for sharing your story.

    Like

  9. Marianne Avatar
    Marianne

    How wonderful to finally meet you yesterday in Seattle; you have two delightful men! Instead of sleeping and catching up after jet-lag I read through the night; it was so worth it! There is so much in your book I can relate to (…identifying pedestrians on the sidewalk based on their footwear. I had to laugh: absolutely true!! and how smells transport us to a different place and bring back memories) and your recipes are mouth-watering and so do-able. Your warmth and openness comes through in your writing. Thank you for sharing your stories.
    Euch viel Spass auf Deiner book tour u. ich freue mich schon auf die deutsche Ausgabe die meine deutschen Freunde dann lesen koennen. Herzlichst, M.

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  10. Betsy Sherrow Avatar

    Luisa-
    It was wonderful to meet you last night at the University Bookstore! I forgot to ask you if you would share the recipe for the ratatouille that is “trillion times better” than the French version. You are every bit as charming as your written words. All the best,
    Betsy

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  11. bumperiphone Avatar

    I picked it up today! It’s gorgeous. Just getting started….. love it!

    Like

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