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Book Review: Wayfaring Stranger: A Musical Journey in the American South, by Emma John

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Cover of Wayfaring Stranger: A Musical Journey…

In the spring of 2017, I sat down to lunch one day at Pete Wernick’s Bluegrass Camp in Boomer, NC, and I met Emma John, a journalist and writer from London. Emma, a classically-trained violinist, had traveled to North Carolina from the UK to learn about bluegrass, and she has now written a book about her adventures. Wayfaring Stranger: A Musical Journey in the American South is the book and I encourage you to go out and find a copy and start reading!

There is so much to like about this book. For those of us who live in North Carolina, Emma’s reflections on our home state, the people who live here, the musicians who make their home here, the culture and even the food–are insightful and fun to read. Reading about people I have met, places I have visited, and musicians that I admire immediately drew me into the book. However, as I continued to read, I realized that I was witnessing so much more about Emma’s journey, and that the messages she was relating were much deeper than just a travelogue of western NC’s bluegrass community.

Emma writes about the process of becoming a bluegrass fiddle player, and her experiences in that area and her insights about that process are what I find to be most relevant and interesting about the book. Many of us who are reading this blog are people who have decided to learn more about bluegrass–the songs, the instruments, and the process of playing this genre of music. Emma’s experiences, and the insights that she gained as she worked to become a fiddle player resonated in so many ways.

It’s a bit of a spoiler, but not too surprising, that Emma had an opportunity to sit down and talk with Jens and Uwe Kruger. Her account of her conversation with them, and the impact it had on her growth as a bluegrass musician was one of the highlights of the book for me. It has helped me on my own path as a musician. It is her account of her journey as a musician that became the real gift of this book. I didn’t expect this book to become a map for my own musical journey, but I think it definitely helps to show the way.

I highly recommend that you seek out a copy of Emma John’s Wayfaring Stranger. Fun fact–Leslie’s dad is quoted in the book!

2 Responses

  1. Donna Ketron
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    Thanks Susan, for the review, I remember her well!

  2. Judy Dasovich
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    Thanks, Diane, I had forgotten that she was writing a book. Ordering ASAP!