C'Est La Vie: An American Conquers the City of Light, Begins a New Life, and Becomes--Zut Alors!--Almost French

Fresh tone with ease of understanding. It's clear to visualize her travels in this memoir. Even if you choose a city other than Paris, everyone should live in a city other than their hometown for an extended moment. I would encourage women of a certain age to read this book.

Unlike most of the reviewers here, I loved this book! And--I don't consider myself a vain self-centered person nor do I think the author came off as one. This is a light-hearted book written about a very difficut time in the author's life. Personally, I'm glad she didn't go into her grief and expound upon it. That's not what this book was about. The fact that she had connections allowed us to read about things we wouldn't have knowledge of otherwise. This is a light breezy read---just the thing to read when you are sick, down about life yourself, or just needing a laugh. I thoroughly enjoyed it---AND passed it on to a friend going through the life changing experience of a divorce after a long marriage.

I think this is a delightful book---and one to not take too seriously. It's a great book to read when you are down, ill, or needing a good laugh. I enjoyed Gershman's style of writing and while her experiences would be out of reach for most of us, they were fun to read about. One reviewer called her vulgar---I just don't see that. While it is true that her affair with a married Frenchmen is not what most would do, it was so typically French. Just don't read this book if you feel a need to judge everyone else based on your own morals. This is a BOOK, not a guide to life.

This book is the ultimate escape for it's author who's way of turning pain into her own caustic brand of humor is a real talent. The story is a typical fantasy for perhaps alot of women in Suzy's position, but Suzy's past experiences as a travel writer make the fantasy even more fantastic. As other reviewers have said, most Americans won't be able to relate to this story, but isn't that we why read books in the first place??? I know for one that I would not want to read a book about a character that was exactly like me or had only realistic limitations because A) it would be boring and B) I'm not that vain! If you are interested in a fun and inspiring voyage through France and through the cycle of grief than you will love this book, I know I did.

I've been a fan of Gershman's Born to Shop books for years and purchased C'est la Vie because recognized her name. Although not a Francophile, I have been to Paris over two dozen times and was curious what it was like to live there as an American. Any adventure, especially travel, can be a "right of passage" but I was completely taken by surprise by the level of personal revelations through widowhood in Gershman's wonderful book. Five years ago I lost a long-term partner and found many of the authors' experiences insightful and profoundly intimate. C'est la Vie is fascinating, funny, heartwarming & optimistic. She took me on the journey with her in more ways than she will ever know. Thank you Suzy...come visit when I am settled in Florence!

Though the circumstances that lead Gershman to make the move to Paris are quite heartbreaking, this book offers a wonderful insight into the human spirit and how one stoically deals with tragedy. Gershman's detailed and witty account of her leap across the pond offers her readers a delicious chance to savor a lifestyle of cultured surroundings, scrumptious cuisine and superb shopping. Though I am significantly grounded here in Texas, I long for the sophisticated culture of Europe and find this form of "armchair travel" to be much cheaper than roundtrip tickets. For like Gershman, I feel it in my bones that I belong there and always feel melancholy when returning home to Texas, the heat, the lack of proper table manners, etc. However, I have neither the means nor the gumption to leave what I have built behind to start a new life abroad (Plus my husband is a native Texan and gets very antsy when in Europe for too long-believe it or not he dislikes the food, lack of air conditioning, lack of space and lack of "tact" many Europeans posses. i.e. questions such as, "Why do you believe in the death penalty? Why are Americans so fat and uncultured? What is wrong with your healthcare systems? He sees these as attacks-not an opportunity to exchange opinions). But I digress...Hats off to the brave Suzy for writing such a poignant tale of her new life after loss. Take this one along to the beach or on the plane or simply snuggled in your favorite chair with a nice glass of Bordeaux. Tres bien Cherie!