French Book Worm was delighted to chat with Bobbi French author of “Finding me in France”:
Bobbi French says that she is just an ordinary person seeking an extraordinary life. For her, that means taking the boldest leap of faith in her life: moving to France to fulfill a lifelong dream. All she has to do is give up her successful medical career in Canada, sell her house, pare down her possessions to only what would fit in a carry-on suitcase, and buy a one-way ticket to Semur-en-Auxois. She also has to ignore the common opinion that she’s lost her mind, walking away from it all for a fantasy. Finding Me in France is a chronicle of the delights and deprecations of making a dream come true. Landing in a small village in Burgundy with only her expectations of adventure to guide her, she details the unaccountable stumbling blocks and the unforeseen joys of her often awkward, frequently perplexing, always entertaining journey of discovery. Illustrated with inspiring photographs, a funny and perceptive account of her experience of a lifetime…
Read our review of Finding me in France – we loved it!
So Bobbi, we have a few questions for you!
At school I was terrible at …
Math, physics, anything involving numbers. However, I did play well with others and I never once ran with scissors.
I started writing when / because ….
I couldn’t think of an easy way to keep friends and family updated on our French adventure. That led me to write a blog, which led to the book. I have no idea where it all came from. I just sat down one day, started writing, and never stopped. To have written and published a book still seems quite surreal to me.
The hardest part of writing a book is ….
Being your own worst critic. I’m still editing the book in my head.
I work best when . . .
It’s late at night and the world is quiet.
If you could have dinner with a famous French person – living or dead, who would it be?
Christine Lagarde. [Editor’s note: A Paris-born French lawyer and politician for the UPM Party and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund – the first woman ever to become finance minister of a G8 economyand the first woman to head the IMF.]
If you were to cook for that person – what would you cook?
I have to stop laughing long enough to answer this question. What goes on in a kitchen remains a mystery to me. I’ll have to ask my husband what he would serve to Madame Lagarde.
Desert Island book – if you could only take three books to a deserted island what would they be?
Tough question. I would fight to take 333 books, but if pressed I would pack away The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields, The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, and February by Lisa Moore.
My guiltiest pleasure is . . .
Copious amounts of dark chocolate.
Red or white wine?
White, all the way, preferably a chilled Meursault.
If Steven Spielberg sees this interview on The Good Life France website and decides to make it into a film who would he get to play the parts of Bobbi and Neil?
Now there’s a thought. I would love to see Allison Janney with a silver pixie cut bumble her way through France, and Neil, hmm, if age weren’t a factor I’d choose John Krasinski. He seems to have the sainted sweetness required to bring the endlessly patient Neil to life on the big screen. I can’t imagine trying to cast someone to capture that ‘je ne sais quoi’ and ‘joie de vivre’ so unique to Neil.
Would you do it again – Find yourself in another country?! Do you even need to?!
I don’t need to, not at all, but I’d happily take a run at Italy. The minute I win the lottery, I’ll give George Clooney a ring and tell him to ready my room…
