Margaret Roach worked at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia for 15 years, serving as Editorial Director for the last six. She first made her name in gardening, writing a classic gardening book among other things. She now has a hugely popular gardening blog, "A Way to Garden." But despite the financial and professional rewards of her job, Margaret felt unfulfilled. So she moved to her weekend house upstate in an effort to lead a more authentic life by connecting with her garden and with nature. The memoir she wrote about this journey is funny, quirky, humble --- and uplifting --- an Eat, Pray, Love without the travel-and allows readers to live out the fantasy of quitting the rat race and getting away from it all.

Sarah and Bob Nickerson appear to have it all:  The price of their lifestyle is steep, but they seem willing and able to pay the price --- until a serious car accident lands Sarah in the hospital and renders her virtually helpless.

A Year in the World is vintage Frances Mayes—a celebration of the allure of travel, of serendipitous pleasures found in unlikely places, of memory woven into the present, and of a joyous sense of quest. You’ll love going along for the ride as Mayes travels from her home base of Tuscany to Spain and Portugal, Frances, the British Isles, and the Mediterranean world of Turkey, Greece, the south of Italy, and North Africa. We hope this discussion guide will bring you further discoveries about A Year in the World and about yourself and your travels.