Synopses & Reviews
A middle class, Midwestern family in search of meaning uproot themselves and move to their ancestral village in Croatia
“We can look at this in two ways,” Jim wrote, always the pragmatist. “We can panic and scrap the whole idea. Or we can take this as a sign. Theyre saying the economy is going to get worse before it gets better. Maybe this is the kick in the pants we needed to do something completely different. There will always be an excuse not to go…”
And that, friends, is how a typically sane middle-aged mother decided to drag her family back to a forlorn mountain village in the backwoods of Croatia.
So begins the authors journey in Running Away to Home. Jen, her architect husband, Jim, and their two children had been living the typical soccer- and ballet-practice life in the most Middle American of places: Des Moines, Iowa. They overindulged themselves and their kids, and as a family they were losing one another in the rush of work, school, and activities. One day, Jen and her husband looked at each other-both holding their Starbucks coffee as they headed out to their SUV in the mall parking lot, while the kids complained about the inferiority of the toys they just got-and asked themselves: "Is this the American dream? Because if it is, it sort of sucks."
Jim and Jen had always dreamed of taking a family sabbatical in another country, so when they lost half their savings in the stock-market crash, it seemed like just a crazy enough time to do it. High on wanderlust, they left the troubled landscape of contemporary America for the Croatian mountain village of Mrkopalj, the land of Jennifer's ancestors. It was a village that seemed hermetically sealed for the last one hundred years, with a population of eight hundred (mostly drunken) residents and a herd of sheep milling around the post office. For several months they lived like locals, from milking the neighbor's cows to eating roasted pig on a spit to desperately seeking the village recipe for bootleg liquor. As the Wilson-Hoff family struggled to stay sane (and warm), what they found was much deeper and bigger than themselves.
Review
Praise for
Running Away to Home:
“The authors voice is consistently infused with an energetic spunkiness, complimented with passages of sage introspection…[an] appealing travelogue of discovery and renewal.”
--Kirkus Book Reviews
“Running Away to Home is a sweet journey of reconnection. Wilson and her family move from Big Box America to her ancestral home in Croatia, and in the process become that most precious of things, the truly connected family.”
--Janine Latus, New York Times bestselling author of If I Am Missing or Dead: A Sisters Story of Love, Murder, and Liberation
"Jennifer Wilson travels and writes with heart and pluck. With her husband and kids in tow, she pushes past all her comfort zone and shows us that adventure is a worthy and rewarding family pursuit. Filled with memorable characters and lovely epiphanies, her tale inspires us to rethink how we define `family and `home. "
--Jeannie Ralston, author of The Unlikely Lavender Queen: A Memoir of Unexpected Blossoming
“I like the heart and good humor of Jennifer Wilson: she has given us a book about the ways sense of place is heightened by displacement and the most enlightening scraps of history must be coaxed from the darkest corners.”
--Michael Perry, author of Population: 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time
Synopsis
A middle class, Midwestern family in search of meaning uproot themselves and move to their ancestral village in Croatia
“We can look at this in two ways,” Jim wrote, always the pragmatist. “We can panic and scrap the whole idea. Or we can take this as a sign. Theyre saying the economy is going to get worse before it gets better. Maybe this is the kick in the pants we needed to do something completely different. There will always be an excuse not to go…”
And that, friends, is how a typically sane middle-aged mother decided to drag her family back to a forlorn mountain village in the backwoods of Croatia.
So begins the authors journey in Running Away to Home. Jen, her architect husband, Jim, and their two children had been living the typical soccer- and ballet-practice life in the most Middle American of places: Des Moines, Iowa. They overindulged themselves and their kids, and as a family they were losing one another in the rush of work, school, and activities. One day, Jen and her husband looked at each other-both holding their Starbucks coffee as they headed out to their SUV in the mall parking lot, while the kids complained about the inferiority of the toys they just got-and asked themselves: "Is this the American dream? Because if it is, it sort of sucks."
Jim and Jen had always dreamed of taking a family sabbatical in another country, so when they lost half their savings in the stock-market crash, it seemed like just a crazy enough time to do it. High on wanderlust, they left the troubled landscape of contemporary America for the Croatian mountain village of Mrkopalj, the land of Jennifer's ancestors. It was a village that seemed hermetically sealed for the last one hundred years, with a population of eight hundred (mostly drunken) residents and a herd of sheep milling around the post office. For several months they lived like locals, from milking the neighbor's cows to eating roasted pig on a spit to desperately seeking the village recipe for bootleg liquor. As the Wilson-Hoff family struggled to stay sane (and warm), what they found was much deeper and bigger than themselves.
About the Author
JENNIFER WILSON is an award-winning writer who has chronicled her travels, both epic and around the corner, in National Geographic Traveler, Gourmet, Esquire, Midwest Living, Better Homes & Gardens, Frommers Budget Travel, Parents, and Disney Family Fun. Running Away to Home was awarded Best Nonfiction Book of 2011 by the American Society of Journalists and Authors.
Reading Group Guide
1) The book opens with the author fleeing the village of her ancestors, far out of her comfort zone and desperate to return to it. And yet, she does return, and with her family. There are a number of reasons—both conscious and subconscious—for her return. What are they? Have you ever experienced a compulsion to do something terrifically outside your comfort zone? Did you find her move selfish or understandable? 2) The author experiences a discomfort with The American Dream, as it looks in modern times. How does she see that dream, and why did she abandon it? What benefit might that have? What do you think The American Dream is today? 3) What is metanoia? Have you experienced it? 4) What was the problem with construction on the familys rooms—and how was it emblematic of Mrkopalj in general? 5) The author had a hard time settling in to the village. When was the turning point in her time there? What happened, and how did that catalyst for change affect the rest of the book? 6) In the village, drinking is a constant, especially among men, and eventually with the author herself when she states: "With an immediate burn in my belly, I knew I had just been inducted into the village of my ancestors." Were you surprised drinking was so prevalent? Did it put you off, or was it just a cultural difference? 7) Robert really unsettles Jen, but he and Jim click. How are these two men alike? How are they different? Why do you think they connected? 8) In some loose way, do you think Robert and Jen represent Croatia and America: their ways of looking at life, ways of doing things (or not), different approaches to life? 9) What happened when Robert helped the author and Jim find their ancestral homes? Do you think this helped them connect to the past? To the village itself? To its residents (particularly Robert)? 10) The old women of the book served almost as midwives to the ancestral connection for the author—particularly Baka Ana and Zora. Do we have traditions we pass from old to young in our culture? What are they? Or have we left them all behind in lieu of progress? 11) How did it affect the family to meet their long-lost relatives? Are Americans really disconnected from our roots and families? What have we lost—and what have we not? Who here has connection to family overseas? How does this affect your family and your life? 12) Did you find the familys simpler life appealing? What would you love to get rid of? Can you imagine your family living so close together for months on end? 13) How is the author changed at end of book? Why did Viktors question "Which kind of Radoševic are you?" particularly affect her? 14) What did you know about Croatia and the history of that area before you read this book? What have you learned about Balkan history? What surprised you? The World War II history in the book was particularly harrowing. How has this affected the village? Did you find it odd that the area remained unscathed during the Yugoslavian Wars?