Good Morning Corfu

The Island of Corfu in Greece is known as the Emerald Isle. William Shakespeare's metaphorical play, "The Tempest," was derived from the island's thunderous autumnal storms. Henry Miller, as well as Gerald and Lawrence Durrell, once called Corfu home. It is an island of intense beauty with fertile green land, golden beaches, turquoise waters, a beautiful Venetian-built city, and one of the most gregarious - and sometimes one of the most treacherous - cultures in Europe. More than a million people from all over the world visit Corfu each year, and over 30,000 expatriates live year round on the island. GOOD MORNING CORFU: LIVING ABROAD AGAINST ALL ODDS chronicles the experiences and observations of an American expatriate living on this Mediterranean outpost of dizzying extremes. From wide-eyed wonder to cultural and personal confusion, from unbridled joy to deep despair, and from empathy to outright loathing, these short essays examine both local and expatriate lifestyles through the lens of one deeply immersed yet forever removed, fundamentally involved yet perpetually on the perimeter of a most curious culture. Even more than a journal of events and experiences, the essays consider many of life's more profound issues and concerns with insight, optimism and humor.