Last week, I shared with you my thoughts on a wonderful autobiographical book (Let’s Pretend This Is Normal) by my lovely friend Miriam Verheyden and today I’m delighted to share a recent chat I had with her…
Hi Miriam! How have books helped you over the years?
Why did you decide to write a book?
I’ve always wanted to be a writer. Growing up I dreamed of writing children’s books, when I was a teenager I dreamed of becoming a journalist, and as a young adult I wanted to write fiction. However, I was convinced that I didn’t have what it takes, so I gave up before I started. When I started blogging 5 years ago, my love for writing came back stronger than ever. My husband’s and my love story was inside of me, begging to come out. There is no other way to put it. I resisted for a long time, out of fear to share something so personal, but in the end it was easier to just write the damn thing instead of being tormented by it. And I’m so glad I did!
Do you have a favourite book or books?
Oh, so many! I’m a die-hard Harry Potter fan, having read every book at least four times so far (and I’m not done yet!). I will re-read them until the end of time.
But my favourite genre is biographies and memoirs, because I find nothing more fascinating than peoples’ stories. Reading about the highs and lows of a life is therapeutic for me, because it proves that every life has tough parts, but that we can learn from them and come out stronger than ever.
My favourite memoir is The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls: I love how eloquently and gracefully she writes about her difficult childhood, without an ounce of self-pity. Her memoir was the first push for me to write my own.
Other books I adore: Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls; Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson; Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert; everything by Brene Brown; all of Malcolm Gladwell’s books; and I also enjoy chicklit.
Do you have plans to write more? If so, what kind of books?
Yes! I just started on my second book, which will also be non-fiction. I like self-help that’s not too preachy (do you know what I mean?), and I’m working now on a book about falling in love with your life.
How does living in Canada differ from your life in Europe?
In one word: freedom. I feel so much freer here than I ever did in Germany. We live on a 10-acre ranch, something we could never afford in Germany. I call all the doctors at the hospital I work at by their first name, which would be unthinkable in Germany – people are much more formal there. I also love the English language, and I have discovered that it’s much easier writing in English than in German!
How long have you lived on your ranch in British Columbia? (I’m so envious, BC is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited!)
Thank you! We moved to our current home in December 2016. Before that, we lived on a different farm in a more populated area of BC for 14 years. Our new home is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream: we always wanted to live closer to the wilderness of BC amongst cowboys and First Nation peoples, and now we do.
What do you love about living there?
How nice and easygoing most people are; the hot and dry climate (we live in the semi-desert now!); how the people come together and help each other when disaster strikes. When my husband was so sick last winter with Lyme disease, we had neighbours come and plow our driveway without being asked; I had friends come by regularly to see how we were doing; and when we had the flooding happening in town over the last 2 springs, everybody helped to put up sandbags. It’s a real community, and I treasure that so much. I also love the easy access to nature, to lakes and rivers and hiking trails. It’s gorgeous here.
You mentioned in your book that you absolutely loved clothes when you were younger. Is that still the case? If so, where do you like to shop?
Oh yes, I do! I used to be a real bargain shopper and bought pretty much all my clothes from Forever 21, H&M, Old Navy, Winners (a discount department store), and American Eagle. Now that I’m nearing 40 my shopping habits have changed, and I buy less clothes that are better quality and more expensive. These days I shop mostly at local stores and small boutiques, and online. My favourite online stores are ModCloth, Rural Haze for booties (they have the BEST cowboy boots!), and eshakti. But I still get sucked into the cheapo-store trap, those ads on Instagram get me way too often lol!
How do you think you’ve changed as you’ve gotten older?
I’m way more confident than I ever have been before. I’m learning not to care about other people’s opinion of me. I know who I am as a woman and as a person, and I like her. It took me a long time to get here!
What about your style? Has that changed?
Yes and no. I still like what I’ve now been wearing for years: casual dresses, jeans and cute tops, booties and clogs, plaid, stripes, cardigans and hats. But I’ve bought my first few pairs of jeans at The Bay, which is a department store where “old ladies” shop! I would never have done that even two years ago, but those jeans are now the ones I wear most. I’ve never cared about labels, and now I don’t care about trendy shops anymore.
When did you start yoga?
On March 1, 2015. I know the exact date because that’s when I did my first yoga challenge on Instagram, hosted by Kino MacGregor.
How has yoga improved your life?
Yoga has taught me to love my body. It’s teaching me patience. It’s showing me that we have untapped sources of strength inside us, just waiting for us to access them. Yoga is proof that we are stronger than we think – both physically and mentally.
You post the most wonderful photos on Instagram – so full of joy surrounding yoga and your animals. How has owning so many animals affected your life?
It’s very calming to live with animals. There’s nothing I like more than hanging out with my dogs, watching the foals play, or have our tiny chickens come to us for a visit when we sit on the porch. Of course, it’s a LOT of work, and there are days where I’d much rather stay in bed instead of going out to feed. But having them always gives you a reason to get up in the morning, even on the dark days when you don’t want to, and they teach us so much about living in the moment, enjoying life, and being content. It’s a beautiful way to live.
Do you ever go back to Germany?
Yes, at least every two years to visit my family. I have two nieces I like to see somewhat regularly, and my sister (yes, the one from the book!) and I are really close now.
Your family initially struggled with the fact that you married an ‘older’ man. How are they now?
They love Richard now, and our age gap hasn’t been an issue in a long time.
Has your family ever visited you in BC? If so, how did that go?
They all have: my grandma, who was our biggest supporter from the very beginning, came as soon as we were married. It was important for her to see where and how we live, and once she was satisfied that I was well taken care of, she didn’t come again. She was another reason I went back to Germany regularly, and I’m so happy I did, because she passed away last year.
My parents have visited us twice, once at the old place and once at the new one, and both visits were really pleasant and fun.
My sister came twice as well, and especially the last visit was magical. Believe it or not, but the book brought us closer together! There are no secrets between us anymore.
The only one who hasn’t been here yet is Oliver – I don’t know if he ever will. Our door is open, but it’s up to him.
You mentioned in your book, that you started blogging back in 2013. Do you still blog regularly? If so, what do you tend to write about?
Yes, I still do! I went down from about 5 posts a week to only 1 or 2, but I can’t imagine giving up blogging. I love documenting life, and see my blog as a time capsule of sorts: a way to document and remember every year.
These days I mostly blog about how to navigate life, how to do things that scare you, mixed in with some posts about ranch life and daily life.
Do you have any favourite blogs that you follow?
Yes! I follow yours (yoga and lifestyle blog!), I still read A Beautiful Mess religiously (they were the first blog I discovered), and I absolutely love The Bloggess. I also really like Advice I Needed Yesterday (her writing is hilarious!), The Daily Tay, my friend Samantha’s latest blog She Goes Simply, my friend Amy’s blog A Desert Girl, I read some of the big ones like Oh Dear Drea and Oh Taza, and I follow a handful of small lifestyle blogs. I’m sad to see the diary-style lifestyle blogs disappear more and more, but nothing lasts forever, right?
Your book was beautifully written, Miriam. Coming from Germany, how did you learn to write English so well?
In one word: reading. I read constantly, and when I started writing regularly I began paying more attention to sentence structure, word choice, and (to a lesser extent) grammar. I’m still learning, and I know that I will never be “done” – but no writer ever is, right? The more we do it, the better we get, and honing this craft is my life’s ambition.
Do you have any regrets?
None.
I feel truly honoured to be able to call Miriam my friend, and I hope that one day we will meet in person. She really is someone very special <3
Visit Miriam Verheyden online:
Where to buy the book:
LINK-UPS
