"You actually have permission to orient your life according to your nature rather than according to your culture and what you were taught was expected of you" - Elizabeth Gilbert, Living an Imperfectly Perfect Life - In Conversation with Sarah Grynberg

Welcome to Episode #105:

After three days in Sydney pondering a workshop with Elizabeth Gilbert I come away with this share. It was a gift to myself to just get away for a few days, number one there was that. Number two, I could have just gone there to see the tsunami of women of all ages ready, pens and journals in hand waiting. There were people of all ages, including some men, one beside me scrawling notes, trying to catch what poet she quoted, all listening, waiting, watching, talking and mostly just feeling her words ricocheting off the podium where she stood.

In such an experience there is before, there is then and then there is after. …. it’s the holy trinity… And so it has been many years of knowing her work from afar, reading her books, loving her books and Liz sharing the art of creative living. For most of us it did start with the iconic ‘Eat Pray Love’ - for some it was the love story, for some the epic travel journey, for some the long pasta lunches in Italy, for some it was the spiritual seeking and the searching for herself. For me, it was everything. Livy was in my belly when I first read ‘Eat Pray Love’, and she is now sixteen years old. I have had three kids, and managed to live a creative life and stay married, in my mind it is quite the endurance test.

It is lovely to see her and listen to her to talk, but it is bigger than that, Liz Gilbert does the work. She questions and she calls it out, and she is willing to ride the wave and get dumped a few times. And if you see her live, you are with her walking into the fire, you are warmed and you are transformed, rising from the flames, anew and alive to whatever you are calling in next!

This share I go all the way in the deep end of living my own personal journey and feeling the rumble of change and growth and my own potential hovering in the wings as I share this podcast. It is creative living and I wouldn’t change any of it - it’s a grand adventure and a joy to share along the way…..

Find all Shownotes at michellejohnston.life

Buy my new book: In the Shadow of a Cypress - An Italian Adventure

Book Link for my MichelleJohnston.life

© 2025 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life
Music Composed by Richard Johnston © 2025

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"There's an immense amount of love in Italian food, and I believe this is the key ingredient that makes it stand out from the rest: a love of good food, love for those at your table, and a love for your territory and its produce. In Italy, food is never just food. Nowadays in particular, it's so important to know what we eat and where it comes from. I found this communal passion in Italy" - Alison Ranwell, Appetito: The life, Soul and Tastes of Italian Home Cooking

Welcome to Episode #104,

Today I have Cookbook Author Alison Ranwell sharing her Italian journey, from moving from London to Italy on a whim, to making a life in the Veneto with her family, and discovering the essence and art of the Italian cuisine and culture.

Alison shares her story of discovering the diverse regional heritage of Italian food, sharing her explorations and the wonderful stories behind the recipes in her new book Appetito: The Life, Soul and Tastes of Italian Home Cooking.

These days Alison has one foot in Italy and one foot in the United Kingdom. You can her visit her website for travel advice, fabulous food adventures and her beautiful evocative cookbook that you must see if you love the visual beauty of Italy, the sublime ingredients and the magic of the Italian table.

Book Share: Appetito: The Life, Soul and Tastes of Italian Home Cooking by Alison Ranwell

On Instagram: Mangia Mangia & Alison Ranwell

Visit Alison: Blog - Mangia Mangia

Find all Shownotes at michellejohnston.life

Buy my new book: In the Shadow of a Cypress - An Italian Adventure

Book Link for my MichelleJohnston.life

© 2025 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life
Music Composed by Richard Johnston © 2025

Support the show

"My motive was simple and hedonistic: I was looking for beauty" - Alain de Botton, The Art of Travel

Welcome to Episode #103

I have mused over limoncello, Liguria, Milano and Roma, the streets of Genova and once wrote a love letter to Padova. I have revered Giotto and Botticelli and cried over Santa Chiara in Assisi. I have interviewed many beautiful women about their lives in Italy, their stories, their cookbooks and their passions for a bountiful table and the beauty of the artist’s life. I have researched Sardegna and even had a good laugh with the one and only Luca Spaghetti. I went deep down the rabbit hole on the iconic Peggy Guggenheim and I dreamt about returning to Italy to do it all over again. I inspired women to go solo traveling in Italy and I insisted my husband take me again for my 50th birthday. And finally I published my travel memoir - In the Shadow of a Cypress - An Italian Adventure.

And so over 103 episodes I have mused and I have definitely felt the call, that magnetic lure of Italy, it has been a beautiful life expanding journey and a wonderful daring chapter of my life - Enjoy my next share In Bocca al lupo - a few of the many stories that happened along the way ❤️

The Italian affair continues through travel, books, art and lifestyle. In truth, there are many portals to enjoy Italy and many ways to connect the dots of living a beautiful life. They all make for a sumptuous connection to Italy and one that has given so much beauty and magic.

Thank you for joining me and making this journey what it is for without the beautiful listeners and you whom I have connected with along the way in conversation and in spirit, it has made it just so much fun!!

Michelle xo

"In bocca al lupo (pronounced [im ˈbokka al ˈlupo]; lit. "into the wolf's mouth") is an Italian Idiom originally used in opera and theatre to wish a performer good luck prior to a performance.

The standard response is crepi il lupo! - "may the wolf die" or, more commonly, simply crepi! ("may it die").

Equivalent to the English actor's idiom "break a leg", the expression reflects a theatrical superstition in which wishing a person "good luck" is considered bad luck. The expression is commonly used in Italy off stage, as superstitions and customs travel through other professions and then into common use, and it can sometimes be heard outside of Italy". (Wikipedia 2024)

Find all Shownotes at michellejohnston.life

Buy my new book: In the Shadow of a Cypress - An Italian Adventure

Book Link for my MichelleJohnston.life

© 2024 A Writer In Italy - travel, books, art and life
Music Composed by Richard Johnston © 2024

Support the show