I Laughed First

Alicia Cardway always had an itch to see the world, but the world didn't necessarily want to see her – and it sure let her know in various ways. Based on an amusing compilation of journal entries, letters to family, and social media posts, Alicia describes her foreign experiences - and those little things that open one's eyes and make the world seem bigger (or, more accurately, Alicia seem smaller). Each new culture and language brought comical, and sometimes cringeworthy, stories to tell – from accidentally visiting a brothel with her toddlers to unexpectedly French kissing a breathalyzer test stone-cold sober; from a village grandma performing a Full-Nelson on her newborn to inadvertently offending a pious butcher during a game of charades. The majority of Alicia's experiences stem from Turkey, where the cultural customs blindsided her, and Belgium, where the language barrier put her in a chokehold for three years. In what has been described as a cross between David Sedaris' ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY and Jeff Kinney's DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, this memoir is an entertaining read for all ages. For anyone who has ever found themself laughing in uncomfortably awkward situations, this book is for you. For anyone who needs to learn to laugh in awkward situations, this book is also for you.