Have you recently had a life affirming experience that reminds you just how wonderful life can be? I've been known to use the phrases, "my head is buzzing from conference info overload" or "my head is reeling from last night's concert" but I've never heard of a "beautiful hangover" used to describe a life experience until now. A beautiful hangover is a term that could be used to describe living life to its fullest.
The Beautiful Hangover: And Everything Else a Canadian Learned from a Colombiana About the Balance of Mother, Wife and Self by Micheline Waring and Liana Cano; "a Colombiana and a Canadian take an inside look at how Latin women can make sexy look seamless in motherhood".
Micheline Waring is a Canadian expat living in Buenos Aires when she meets Liana Cano. She quickly discovers that her new found Columbiana friend has a certain zest for living! Micheline goes on a quest to learn Liana's secret to enjoying every bite out of life. Micheline and Liana have a message for you dear readers in their guest post that follows. Enjoy!
THE BEAUTIFUL HANGOVER
What is a Beautiful Hangover? The first time I heard my Colombian friend Liana exclaim with enthusiasm that she relishes a good hangover once in a while: I chocked on my coffee. Hard. Never once had a hangover over been beautiful in my house. In that moment I realized I wasn't living life to the fullest.
Growing up in Canada I thought we had all the answers. As North Americans we know everything, don’t we? It wasn’t until I got married and moved overseas with my husband that I was humbled, realizing just how much the world had to teach me. A few short years later and in the face of new motherhood I personally fell apart. I found myself to be completely and utterly overwhelmed. Having lived in Mexico, Ecuador and Argentina I privately admired Latin women. Their ability to be attentive, affectionate mothers while also maintaining their femininity and their sensuality astounded me. It also evaded me. I had no idea how they managed it and spent much of young motherhood feeling overtired, frizzy-haired and under confident. I lost myself.
Then I met Liana, a fellow expatriate in Buenos Aires. She’s sexy, bubbly, happy and a dedicated wife and mother. She embodied everything I respected about Latin America. Through the course of friendship we discovered many commonalities. We are both expatriates of roughly the same age who grew up with single mothers, who are in long-term marriages to entrepreneurial men, with two young children. Yet Liana was energized in her life. She buzzed off to the gym, met her husband for cocktails and played with her girls enthusiastically. I, on the other hand, simply felt exhausted. The only thing that I could aspire to was getting through the day. What were we doing so differently? I had to know.
What could I as a Canadian Mom learn from the culture I was living in? What did I already know about myself and had forgotten along the way? Could I find self-respect and confidence through honesty and humour? Could I recapture fitness, health and vitality? With Liana, my sexy Colombian friend as my guide and with Buenos Aires as a backdrop, I couldn’t wait to find out.
It was nearly a year ago that my good friend Liana and I broke ground on the project that eventually became our new e-book The Beautiful Hangover. For years I personally admired Liana’s ability to balance the roles of mother, wife and self within the trials of everyday life. I still think it’s the hardest thing we will ever do.
I knew that Liana, a Colombiana, had something special to give to other women because over the last four years of our friendship she has given so much to me. She’s incredibly bubbly and full of life. Whether we spoke about guilt, balance, fitness or fashion she made me think. And she has always made me laugh. I can’t tell you how much fun we have had working together!
We invite you to come on a personal journey with us here in Buenos Aires. As autumn settles in across Canada, spring is only just heating up in Argentina. Come and daydream in your favourite chair, with a glass of wine in hand!
We hope you enjoy it!
Micheline Waring and Liana Cano
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
An excerpt of The Beautiful Hangover can be read on FastPencil.com
The Beautiful Hangover can be purchased for your Kindle on Amazon.com or your Nook on BarnesandNobel.com.
You can check out Micheline Waring's blog, and find The Beautiful Hangover Page on Facebook.
BOOKALICIOUS BOOK GRAB GIVEAWAY
Micheline Waring and Liana Cano have an eBook copy of The Beautiful Hangover to give to a lucky Bookalicious reader who shares a tip about living life to its fullest in the comments below.
YUMMY RULES AND REGULATIONS
You must be a Yummy Mummy Club member to win. Click to sign up! It's free and filled with perks. One comment per member. Entries will be accepted until 11:59 pm EDT on October 5th, 2011. This contest is open to Canadian residents. Winners will be picked using www.random.org. Please mark the email address [email protected] as a "safe sender" when you enter a Bookalicious giveaway and respond within 1 week of notice to claim your prize!
Relish reading,
Wanda Lynne Young
@YMCbookalicious
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