Susan Branch and Martha's Vineyard: Isle of Dreams

Reading "Martha's Vineyard: Isle of Dreams" by Susan Branch was a real delight. Enchanting, to use her word. I thought I knew the story of her discovery of Martha's Vineyard at the time of her divorce, but there was so much more to the story. She goes through her old diaries and re-creates her landing on the island in 1982 with hand-written pages and her lovely watercolor paintings. She tells us all about her friends and her visit from her dad, and how she decides to live alone on the island and follow her dream of writing a cookbook. I love how she takes us through the painstaking process of stepping one foot in front of the other as she creates her first cookbook one page at a time, water coloring each page and her trip to New York and to Boston to get a publishing deal. It's all there, more exciting in her own words. I love how she writes about her walk that she goes on to the beach every day, knowing that she is still doing this today. I love her perseverance and audacity, just the whole believing in herself. I love how she has her own style of writing and painting, staying true to herself the whole time. Her paintings have only gotten better through the years, but she was an original talent from the beginning and Little, Brown and Company believed in her, too. Her many fans attest to her talent and charm.