As soon as I knew how to write I turned to words when things overwhelmed me, whether in a good or bad way.

So in my early days in the U.S., when everything was new to me, I first wrote to clarify my thoughts as I faced an entirely new country, new language and new culture. Later, I wrote to remember. And then, after two decades spent on both coasts of my new vast home, I started a blog where I shared my dual French American identity and my affection for my native and adoptive lands.

Like many people who live in the U.S., I speak two languages on a daily basis. Unlike most, I write fiction in American English, a language I acquired in adulthood. The acquisition has been a complex process, frustrating sometimes, but in the end transformative. Living between two languages and two cultures is both a gift and a challenge. My blog became a window on this life.

Ten years later, I know it is time to say goodbye to my blog in order to focus on other projects. I don’t do New Year’s resolutions, but in the early hours of 2019 I decided to select some of my posts to create an e-book, my personal goodbye to the many people who’ve read me over the years.

My husband, who customized my blog and maintains it, offered to design this e-book. Without his technical and unconditional support, this project would remain tucked in my Words Documents and I would not be able to publish Chez Moi in the USA by the end of January.

Through the process of selecting the posts I became the embarrassed and humble witness of my linguistic wandering journey. In addition, I realized that my writing not only uncovered personal experiences but illustrated also the evolution of our world, mostly in the ways we communicate. In less than a decade, social medias have transformed us, and I followed these changes through my blog.

Some of the posts I chose have never been read, only a few are among the most popular. I will add two original unpublished stories, even though a longer version of one of them won second place in a writing competition.

Chez Moi in the USA will be divided into categories, so you’ll be able to select what interests you most. I still hope that you’ll venture through each and every category and will like what you find.

Although I am closing my blog today and comments after this last post, I am not finished with writing, so this is only Au revoir and not Adieu.

Thank you, my fellow bloggers, for your thoughtful, meaningful comments and also for your sense of humor and your genuine kindness. They’ve meant a lot to me. I’ve never met any of you, and yet I always wished you well, whether through my blog or yours.

In these early days of 2019 I still wish you the best.

Cheers to those blogging years!

Evelyne