Chasing Ruth

<p>What happens to a family of four when it travels over 18000 miles in five weeks? In this nonfiction account the author'sfamily follows in the century-old footsteps of writer Holly J. Pierce's grandmother Ruth Crapo taken during her six-monthGrand Tour of Europe and beyond.</p><p>While the Grand Tour was designed to educate and refine a 27-year-old young lady this contemporary journey initiallyplanned to be both one of connection with the past and a chance to strengthen family bonds turns into a hectic often grimly humorous forced march.</p><p>Based on the words of Grandmother Ruth's diary the trek taken a century later comes to life through the candid wordshastily scratched into the author and her daughters' diaries as the family scrambled to make connections with trains ferriesmetros and planes.</p>How the whine of circular saws pushy Italian futbol players and French onion soup serve to both tear apart and heal wounds and grievances among these four travelers make it a trip not to be missed.