Donna Keel Armer - Solo in Salento

PRAISE FOR

SOLO IN SALENTO

With searing honesty, Donna Keel Armer sweeps us along on a sun-kissed, soul-stretching journey of discovery. Her lyrical descriptions, as vibrant as postcards, capture the beauty and spirit of the ancient village in Salento that healed her heart. A life-affirming vicarious voyage that captures the magic of Italy and the joys of coming into ones true self.

Dianne Hales , author La Bella Lingua, Mona Lisa: A Life Discovered, La Passione: How Italy Seduced the World, Knight of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity

A captivating joy for armchair travelers and a balm for wounded souls, Donna Keel Armers empowering memoir transports us into the wonders of southern Italy on a pilgrimage of healing and self-discovery. Armer writes with the spirit of a born storyteller, inviting readers to linger in her language and champion her voyage inward. Robust with artfully presented metaphors, intoxicating in sensual details of adventures abroad, and courageously forthright in chronicling the reclamation of a sense of self from the fragments of a damaged life, Solo in Salento is a heartfelt and venturesome triumph.

Jonathan Haupt , co-editor of Our Prince of Scribes: Writers Remember Pat Conroy

A sassy and sacred memoir for those sorting out whats most valuable in life.

Cassandra King Conroy , author of TELL ME A STORY: My life with Pat Conroy

Donna Keel Armer s gorgeous memoir is an invitation to explore Italy with an artist s eye, a sommelier s palate, and a mystics heart. Her storyreflective and riotous, intimate and illuminatingbares a bold and vulnerable personal journey of loss, discovery, and epiphany. Dont miss this book!

Rebecca Bruff , author of Trouble the Water

Solo in Salento is a mosaic a rich tour of Italy, an art history lesson, a culinary adventure, a primer on trash, a tale of self-discovery, a love story, and so much more. Donna Keel Armer assembles the pieces with the flair of an artist and the care of an artisan. This book is for anyone who has ever felt the pull of wanderlust or the desire for some time alone.

Tiffany Quay Tyson , author of Three Rivers and The Past is Never , winner of the 2018 Willie Morris Prize for Southern Fiction

Donna Keel Armer... traveled to Otranto, Italy, to find beauty in a broken world, and to rediscover value in the fragmented pieces of her life. The lessons she learned... enhanced her own personal healing from abuse and rejection. Even the villages rituals surrounding the organization and removal of trash mirrored her own process of sorting the obligations, schedules, and social engagements that littered her life. Part personal memoir and part travelogue, Solo in S a lento is the story of one womans journey of magic, mystery, and music on the way to finding her heart place. A work of colorful literary prose, this is a book for everyone looking for strength, courage, and joy in their life.

Susan Cushman , author of Friends of the Library and Cherry Bomb , and editor of Southern Writers on Writing and A Second Blooming: Becoming the Women We Are Meant to Be

This book is so much more than a book about travel. Its a touching memoir of self-discovery and renewal. The stunning prose will transport you to the Puglia region of Italy, where youll see masterful mosaics and taste Italian delicacies, and be moved by Donnas personal journey.

Cele Seldon , travel journalist, Seldon Ink

Armer sets off on her solo journey to rediscover the self she has forgotten, to step into her power, to heal, and we eagerly read on to discover what she learns about her life so that we, in turn, can learn about ourselves.

Joan Dempsey , author of This Is How It Begins

In the words of Donna Keel Armer, Enchantment comes to those who open their hearts, minds and souls to its possibilities. Solo in S alento is an enchanting story of her time in a small village in Italy. In inviting us to share a journey to rediscover herself, Donna opens up with vulnerability, honesty, and, yes, enchantment. She is so masterful with descriptions, we walk alongside her, seeing the village, tasting the food, dancing with new friends. This is not a book to race through. Its a book to savor, to linger over each dinner, to enjoy outings and new people, to struggle with language, to feel the cramping of hands creating mosaics, and to take in the gems of insight she weaves seamlessly through the story. You will feel youve been to Salento and met a new friend.

Donna Bearden , Author of Finding More Me: Journaling to Go Soul Deep

Solo in Salento is a journey of self-discovery amid the white-washed town of Otranto. Theres sumptuous seafood, delicious wine and local hospitality like no other! Solo in Salento will woo you completely and make you dream of visiting the boot of Italy... to experience it all yourself.

Ishita Sood , Indias only blogger on Italy, Italophilia www.ishitasood.com

Donna gives each reader permission to follow her playful lead... diving into their own hearts, cleaning off who they arent, and snuggling up, ever so gracefully, to who they really are.

Sally Veillette , author of Coming to Your Senses: Soaring With Your Soul and Sicilian Roots

As both an avid reader and a worldwide traveler, I enjoyed Solo in Salento immensely. Donna brought to life the magic of this lesser-known region of Italy, and I could relive my past visits through her eyes. It was also a story of a women coming to terms with her life and the meaningful relationships she found along the way. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to immerse themselves in a beautiful story about love and friendship.

Panda Richie , owner, Windows of the World Travel LLC

Solo in Salento

by Donna Keel Armer

Copyright 2020 Donna Keel Armer

ISBN 978-1-64663-117-9

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the author.

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To Ray, luomo del mio cuore

PROLOGUE

Once Upon A Time

Cera Una Volta

CERA UNA VOLTA Once upon a time, a girl raised by protective, turn-of-the-twentieth-century parents came into the world. I was the fourth and final daughter born into this family. My three siblings and I were loved, totally and completely. We were sheltered from most outside influences. Our environment was safe, calm, religious, and full of rules tempered with love.

Mother raised us to be respectful and obedient ladies suitable for marriage. According to her upbringing, she was to provide us with skills to create a loving home for our husbands and children. We each absorbed our upbringing differently.

My sexual education was repressive, filled with what young ladies were not allowed to do. Along with the thou shalt nots, Mothers rules provided me with a list of sins that I wouldnt have time to commit in a lifetimeeven if I tried. Many centered around sexual activity. It was drummed into my head that no boy or man shall lay hands on any part of me until the I do s had been vowed. Consequences for not following the rules were dire. There would be condemnation to an afterlife in hell where the devil would continuously prick me with his fork. I would be shamed and found wanting. Guilt was the mainstay of my growing up. If a boy grabbed my hand or stole a kiss, I froze, knowing I had just slid further down the ladder to fire and brimstone.