My Grape Escape

Could an Oxford law student schooled in overachievement trade it all in for the humble work of polishing metal door hinges forged in 1789 at the dawn of the French Revolution? Laura Bradbury found out when, as a twenty-six-year-old newlywed on the path to a prestigious legal career in London, she leapt off the ladder to success to buy a decrepit ruin in the tiny French village of Magny-les-Villers with her Burgundian husband.Trading in her academic cap and gown for a ruthlessly traditional French winemaking town brought a myriad of unsettling new experiences. Laura's idealistic visions of bicycling through the French vineyards with fresh baguettes under her arm had not included being confronted with a steaming plate of veal brains for breakfast or taming an ogre of an electrician named Tin Tin who hunted wild boars in his spare time. Still, as Laura learned the art of bartering for antique armoires and rekindled romance with her husband, she also gained a newfound perspective on herself, including her recurrent panic attacks and her inability to carry on conversations with the Virgin Mary like her Catholic husband and the rest of his family. Was Laura's split-second, life-altering decision to escape to the vineyards of France profoundly wise or utterly insane? Find out in My Grape Escape-a story for anyone who's imagined taking a U-turn in life to seize their joy.