TRANQUILA

By Amy Breen

Drinking glasses of cava in the sunshine, indulging in delicious tapas, and learning Spanish with ease is what Amy Breen, a hard-charging physician and mother of three, expected of life in Spain. But when she and her young family move to Barcelona, the tranquilo lifestyle of their new country has other ideas for her. Join Amy and her family in their mishaps and adventures living in Barcelona and traveling throughout Europe, and watch as Amy openly and with a self- deprecating humor unfolds her struggles in her transition from a handle-it-all doctor and mother in the States to full-time parent who needs her kids to translate for her. The tranquilo way of life is Amy’s adversary, and then teacher, in this humorous personal and family journey.

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Reviews

"

A thoroughly engaging, honest, humorous, and self-reflective read, Breen pens a brilliant memoir about the pitfalls and joys of uprooting her American family, with three young children, to spend two years living abroad. Courageous and inspiring…each chapter is a wonderful journey that takes on a life of its own. Over and over, Breen is handed a huge dose of Tranquila—a reminder of the importance of slowing down and savoring each moment.

—Karen Solt, author of Hiding for My Life

"

If an opportunity for a gap year abroad popped up into your everyday, more than busy chaotic life, would you jump at it? Would you look at it as a reprieve; as an answer to prayer; or as a challenge to embrace adventure? Add in three young children, ages 6, 7, and 9, plus a loving husband who has been given an opportunity to work in Barcelona for a year, maybe two, would you take the gamble? Change isn’t necessarily your forte, plus you have no idea how to speak Spanish, But those are the questions that compelled Amy Breen to step away from her medical practice in California to go check things out. As she describes it, it was a year, no two, of adjustments, miscalculations, and misadventures, but one that the family dove into—sometimes with reluctance and more often with vigor. Where else could she and her family share the joys and fruits Spain has to offer. And blast all the attempts to learn Spanish when the language of her neighborhood was Catalan. Or were they speaking some other language? A delightful exposé of motherhood abroad!

—Carole Bumpus, author of A Cup of Redemption and A September to Remember

"

Tranquila is much more than a family travel memoir. It’s the story of a journey from a Silicon Valley emergency room, where every second counts, to making a life in Barcelona, where every second counts in an entirely different way. We can all enjoy and learn from the latter.

—Charles Wheelan, author of We Came, We Saw, We Left: A Family Gap Year

"

If you’ve ever considered moving your family abroad for a year, this is the book for you. Tranquila will give you the unvarnished truth about the experience of being in a country where you don’t speak the language, understand the customs or have a clue about how to achieve the most basic daily tasks. Through vivid stories, Amy brings us along with her three kids and husband on the adventure, or is that misadventure, of a lifetime. Whether you’re an avid or armchair traveler, this is a deep dive into another culture seen through a perspective of a courageous woman

—Karen Gershowitz, author Travel Mania and Wanderlust

"

Every working mom knows life is anything but Tranquila (tranquil). Amy Breen and her husband decide to step away from her busy work as a physician to move their family to Barcelona. Navigating life without mastery of the language to seek more quality time with their children results in surprises. Breen learns lessons expats endure in an effort to adopt the best of Spanish life. For her, letting go of her native culture to adopt another is a stress equivalency of her former life in the emergency room. A worthy read and an eye-opening chronicle for those seeking adventures in another culture.

—Linda Moore, award-winning author of Attribution and Five Days in Bogotá.