Kate Langbroek’s joyous, brave book Ciao Bella! about taking her family of six to Italy for a year, offers the perfect start to 2022 because it’s an optimistic ‘can do’ tale of overcoming challenge – including ending up home schooling in a Bologna lockdown!

Hi there, I’m your host Jenny Wheeler, and in Binge Reading today we’ve got something a little different – our first non-fiction book by popular demand!  Kate and her husband Pete were looking for a “circuit breaker” in family life after years of facing some unusually tough challenges. Their story of a colorful, food-filled stay in Italy is more than a travel memoir.  It offers an incorrigible message of hope.

We’ve got one paperback copy of Ciao Bella! to give away to one lucky reader.  Enter the draw on The Joys of Binge Reading website or on our Facebook page. Offer closes February 10 so be in to win.

ENTER DRAW FOR KATE PAPERBACK

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Six things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:

Why taking a 'circuit breaker' doesn't need to be expensiveHow Kate never planned to write a bookFinding the right city for her family's needsMaking new friends to deepen the experienceThe differences between Australia and ItalyHome schooling in Italy in lockdown

Where to find Kate Langbroek: 

Website:  https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/Ciao-Bella!/Kate-Langbroek/9781760857547

Twitter: @katelangbroek

Instagram: @katelangbroek

What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

But now, here’s Kate.

Jenny Wheeler: Hello there, Kate and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

Kate Langbroek: Thanks Jenny. I'm very happy to be here. I'm very happy to be on this side of promoting a book rather than writing a book.

Introducing broadcaster and author Kate Langbroek

Jenny Wheeler: That’s right. This is unusual for our show because you are the first person who's been on with a non-fiction book. We have always done popular fiction up till now, but when I saw Ciao Bella! which is your personal memoir about taking your family to Italy for a year – just the look of it, you even, you communicated adventurousness, out there – I thought, this is what we need for the new year, someone who can inspire us to get out there and do new things after this rotten year we've all had in 2021.

Kate Langbroek - a vibrant memoir of a family's Italian stay

I did poll my listeners on it and it was 100%. They wanted to hear about it. So that was really lovely.

Kate Langbroek: Oh. What if it was only 99%, Jenny? What would you have done?

Jenny Wheeler: I still would have done it because I wanted to do it. Before we get into the book, quite a few of our listeners won't be aware of your work in Australia.

You're a national star in your own land, in Melbourne, but for those who aren't quite so familiar about your background and where you were placed when you started thinking about doing this adventure, tell us a bit about that.

A show biz background for new author Kate Langbroek

Kate Langbroek: I have worked broadly in showbiz for over 20 years. A little bit of television, a little bit of writing, columns for newspapers and panel shows or improv shows. Comedically based stuff mainly. But the main bulk of my work has been on the radio.