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Welcome to Wise Health for Women Radio with Linda Prater. Women are pressed daily to give more, learn more, and be more, often at the expense of mind, body, or spirit. Each week with intriguing guests and topics, we'll bring you fresh ways to view your limited time, encouraging a shift to new, healthier perspectives. Wise Health for Women Radio, helping women thrive. And now here's your host, Linda Prater.
Good morning and welcome to Wise Health for Women Radio. I'm Linda Crater. And you know how much we talk about wellness and life balance and all of those things that give us joy. Well, we are going to be talking today with someone who is living the dream so far as I'm concerned. And I'm going to introduce you to Emily Francis, who is a wellness coordinator, a speaker, an author of many wonderful books. And she's going to be talking about
And she has such wisdom to offer. And I'm going to let her just speak for herself here. So, Emily, welcome to our program. Thank you so much for having me, Linda. I'm happy to be here. Well, I'm thrilled. So let me just give a little background and then you take on. You, what, is it two years ago now?
In 2020, right? In 2020. So three years ago. Yeah. She moved her family to the island of Malta off of Greece. Now, if that doesn't sound like heaven to me, I keep thinking of what was the movie that
My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Under the Tuscan Sun, Eat, Pray, Love, Take a Piss. And the one with ABBA, the music. Oh, now that is a Greek one, but we're really off the coast of Sicily. Oh, you're off of Sicilia. So we're in the Mediterranean. You're in the Mediterranean. All I know is I hear the word Mediterranean and I automatically relax. So.
So I'm really thrilled to have you on today because you left when the world was in chaos. I did. And you moved to island living, which I personally think has a different feel to it together. But you're also able to cultivate new things, new flavors, new experiences, new people. What a wonderful thing to do to transform your world. Yeah.
You know, I have to tell you, I really hope that I get a book deal for the next book, even though we're talking about this one. My new book is The Taste of Joy, Mediterranean Wisdom for a Life Worth Savoring. But it's a self-help book that's wonderful. But I really hope to write...
my real story and travels because it was 2020. I moved four animals, two children, my husband and me. None of us had ever even visited Malta. It was during the lockdown. We had to go right into mandatory quarantine. So we up...
uprooted everything we've ever known, sold our homes, sold our cars, sold everything, moved to a furnished house here in Malta with his company though. So we weren't totally alone and just, and we just went for it. And here's the coolest part for me. I have been a body worker, a clinical massage therapist working post cancer for 20 years. And over here, I don't have a work visa. I am not allowed to work.
So most people would come over here and go, okay, well then I'm just going to take the kids to and from school. And I'm just, that's my life. But instead I called the local tourism magazine and I said, I want to write for you. And so for the last two plus years, I've been writing a regular column where we go with the cameraman and we do live in person interviews with local farmers, fishermen, and chefs about the way that foods are grown locally, caught, harvested, and
prepared on this island. I literally spent my morning today cutting capers off the capers bush because they're in season right now with my farmer in it. I created a life for myself that it was just, it was jumping off a cliff and, and just going for it because I had nothing to lose. Well, and you know what you're, when you're not asking for money, it's amazing the opportunities you can pull off.
It's amazing. That's a very valid point. I think the interesting thing in your book and from what I have researched about you prior to this episode is that you have been involved in wellness and healthy nutrition for your entire adult life.
And so the taste of joy really resonates because let's face it. So many people are faced with, all right, I need to lose my, you know, COVID 20. I need to get back moving. I'm not happy. I'm flat. I'm this, that, and the other thing. And you use joy.
food analogy metaphor as a recipe for life and I love it because you bring back sunshine you bring back breathing you bring back you frankly sound like the island itself so it's lovely to listen to you and just so that you all know her website is emilyafrancis.com if you want to follow along while we're talking and
So, Emily, talk about how you began to realize that, you know, this new life you were creating, which is really due to your intentionality. That's phenomenal. Really, the food and the layers and this cookbook and the story behind it really created an entire energy that you gave to this new island that you entered.
It's true. Honestly, let me just say it's Emily, a Francis books.com. So, but here's the, it's not a cookbook, but there's recipes in every chapter, right? It's not a travel book, but we take you all around the island. You know, it's,
It's just sort of an interesting, like, come with me and take a vacation from your life for a little bit. But also let me remind you that life is so sacred and precious because we moved here in COVID and people were, you know, this country handled COVID differently.
completely differently than the United States. My children didn't have to go online. They've been in school since the moment we got here. But everybody wore a mask and it wasn't a political venture. Everybody took care of everybody over here because you have third generational living here. You have people that live with their grandparents. So they didn't take those chances. They didn't, they really...
modeled what you would hope people would do. And so we got through it much quicker. It was still horrible, but I didn't lose my... I didn't have to come in and hide. And I was hiding when I lived in Georgia. So we moved here and my children could come back out and go to school. And we made friends. It
pretty quickly. Sure. That, that, that was such a blessing. And to be honest, in a weird way, COVID was a blessing for my family because one, we got to move. Yes. But also we never would have gotten into the school we got into if it was regular times because of the, the wait list was years and now all the people went back to countries. So we had this opportunity to get into places that we wouldn't have under other circumstances. And here's the other part.
My children, who are now eight and 10, so we moved here when they were six and eight, had to both skip a grade because they begin school earlier here. And my oldest had to skip two grades because I had held her back. So if it wasn't for COVID, they would have had their tails handed to them on a platter. But instead, having to skip these grades and jumping into a school, they had more grace
from the teachers, more flexibility, more ability to slide forward and backward as they could because of COVID. And so, you know, I'm looking at life and all my friends are miserable and I'm looking at life over here going, I am living in heaven on earth. I feel like I've literally died and gone to heaven. And I can't even believe we're sharing the same earth matter because it really is like life.
a whole different world, but it's also the world I created. I navigate it. It's my farmers. I have fallen so in love with them that it was, there was some friend of mine, her daughter goes to school with my daughter and she was saying, I'm going to have this huge party. I'm an event planner and I have this designer and this designer. And I'm like, Oh, I don't know who those are. And everybody went, Oh, you don't know them. And I said, I'm sorry. Are they farmers?
She was like, no. And I go, then I don't know them. It was like, I don't care to meet your designer friends. I moved to a foreign country and decided who I wanted to become and who I wanted to become was happy, really soulfully, joyfully happy. And that's what I did.
There's a bottom line to all of this, and it is that you sought the silver lining. You found it where you are living. You kept being thankful for all the things that were happening, and I have found that those who have gratitude are so much happier in their lives.
That is absolutely true. And it's, I'm contagious over here because the locals don't know how great it is until you have a foreigner come in and go, Oh my gosh, look at this. You can see the sea at every street. Look at this, look at this today. I'm, you know, we're cutting the capers. And he said, Oh, you've never seen these. And I said, I come from Georgia from the outskirts of the
city. I don't even know if capers are grown in the United States. I've never harvested olives and watched olive oil be made. All these things that I'm doing here, I've never had the pleasure and the opportunity. And here, these farmers, I did this all by foot. When I started writing for the magazine and saying, I want to do something with food, it's because of my obsession with GMO foods and my hatred for GMO foods. And so I wanted, this is a GMO free country.
And so I wanted to learn how they grow foods in a healthy way, how they're harvested without all these poisonous sprays and insecticides and pesticides and herbicides even. And so I did this. And even when I asked the column, can I write, I want to do foods because in America, a standard U S potato goes through five rounds of bleaching before it hits your plate.
And so here, my first interview was with a farmer who grows potatoes for Air Malta. And I wanted to see what that looks like when they're not bleached. How do you take care of it? What do you do? And that's how I got this position writing for them. But even still...
editors, I'm 48. The editors were 28. They didn't know anybody. So they're not like, here's a list of people you call. No, this was me on foot showing up like a crazy lunatic stalker saying, I would like to find a farmer who grows strawberries. And you get immediately, no, I don't want, and they hang up.
Or you go there and they go, no, why you need that? He's my brother. I'm not giving you his number. Everybody's very protective. Really. The farming community here is super tight and you're not getting in. And it took me the whole two years to jump in the center and go, look, I am not here to harm. I am here to showcase your beauty. And now I just call my farmers and go, all right, I need artichokes. Who do you got? And then they call their friend and then I go make up the appointment and I say, so-and-so gave me your name. And then I'm in.
And that's how it works. You built yourself a network. I did. I really did. It's so appropriate today that the show sponsor is HelloFresh. With HelloFresh, you get farm fresh, pre-portioned ingredients, and seasonal recipes delivered right to your doorstep. Grocery runs become fewer, a bonus for me since I don't buy unnecessary items. And I can count on HelloFresh to make cooking easy, fun, and affordable. That's why it's America's number one meal kit.
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But it's a shame you don't have much enthusiasm or passion for this. It's just really, yeah, I wish you'd get excited for some reason. No, I love this because life is best well lived. And the other thing, I've moved a lot in my lifetime. And I believe in thriving where you're planted. Now, you are planted in a very special spot, I must say. I am. And I never had something so exotic before.
But I love the way you dove in and, you know, your life's work. And it is marvelous. Talk about, I loved your video on your website, which is emilyafrancisbooks.com. I got it right this time. And I love the way you used food as a metaphor. It blends so nicely with what you're telling us about how you,
jumped into life here because there are two ways expats go in. They go back in saying, oh, life was so much better in Georgia. In Georgia, we did this. Or they do what you did.
And it's fascinating to me because we lived in Belgium and we learned to speak Flemish, a perfectly useful language, right? Yeah, like Maltese. That's why I don't know Maltese. I wouldn't even have known that there was Maltese. But I left because you really can thrive where you're planted, but you have to be willing to
As you say, jump and grow your wings on the way down. So I love that. But talk about how you love and use food for health, wellness and balance. That's what really started you along looking for the farmers and the non-GMO food.
What is, and you know, I have two different scenarios that I just, I want to back up because I moved one year before we moved to Malta. We moved from the North side to the South side of Georgia. I made it work, but I was really unhappy and I did everything in the world that I could to blend, to try to blend, but it's an incredibly evangelical, very right, um,
It's hard. North and south is different. Yes. It's different. And every, the only thing anybody ever asked me in the whole year I lived there was, have you found a church yet? I mean, it was like no part of where did you come from? What else do you do? What do you like? And I, my job was to make my kids be accepted. And so I felt like I had to climb in a box and hold my breath and just do what I needed to do. Okay. Moving here. I've been planted in a, in a garden without fences. Okay.
Interesting. And that's different because it isn't just your mindset. And I've learned that more than ever because of coming here, because when you are planted in a place that really does not thrive in your energetic environment, you're going to do everything you can and it still just might not work or it might be enough, but nothing spectacular. So,
And I talk about that in the book as something called astrocartography, which is your birth chart according to demographics in the world. Because there are places that we go where we resonate high and low. You go to some vacation and you cannot wait to go back. You go to other vacations and realize you are never going to go back to that place. And it's fine. But it's just not for you. That's what happens in the world.
So I want to say that to anybody who's listening. That's very true. I stand corrected on that. I think you can make it work. But thriving is...
you know, sometimes out of your hands. It takes the inside and the outside. It's not just your mindset. And that's one of the things that I challenged. And part of the reason, the beginning of writing this book, because I have always believed that if you are grateful and you are healthy and body and mind, you can be happy anywhere. And I fully challenged that belief because if you're in an environment, that's not feed your soul, you can do everything you can. And it's still really not pleasant to,
You're actually really right now that I think about it, because it's who you surround yourself with and your environment itself that does have a large bearing on whether you will be allowed to
to spread your wings or if you need to keep them tucked in. You know, and I, if you, if it's okay, I want to share a story with, so when I moved here, we have a garden here. The home that we rent, the owners, the landlords have become my, my dearest friends here. And it was built by her parents who are no longer alive. And there's a lot of trees here that her mother built. So, so,
She likes to come over just to eat the oranges that her mom grew and the flowers. I always cut the roses for her family. These are your mom's roses. But when I moved here, I was really obsessed with olive oil. And so I had a gardener plant two olive trees for olive oil. And those are different trees. So he asked me, do you want olives to eat or olives to make oil? And I got trees that are for oil.
And I got two trees, the same size, the same age, but I didn't know where to plant them. So I planted one in a spot that's pretty open in the garden. And then I planted the other one in a really large pot, but it was a huge pot. So I didn't think like, oh, it's a pot. And my gardener didn't stop me.
But two years into it, my, my olive tree that's planted in the garden is now four times the size as the olive tree that was planted in a plant. There's your metaphor. That's your whole life right there. So what we did this year is I had him, there was this
tiny little grapefruit tree that never actually grew. So we removed the grapefruit tree and that went to his garden because he can nurse it back to life. And we put the potted olive oil tree that looks like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree into that plot now in a little garden space. And I go outside and I talk to my trees every day. I'm so proud of you. I'm really sorry I set you up badly.
And now you learn something. I did learn something. And this is the first year that both trees, even the small stunted are both bearing fruit. We're going to have olives on both trees for the first time this year. So exciting. And I have heard that when you do follow the olives fresh from the, the, the trees, et cetera, that it doesn't taste anything like the olive oil we buy in a store. Oh,
Now that I've gone to my farmers and pressed olive oil, you cannot even begin to imagine how different the taste, the smell, even the texture and the color, completely different. Now, I don't like, we do still buy commercial olive oil from the store here because they come from Italy and Spain and Greece. They're not coming from the U.S. where it's sprayed. But mostly, if I see any farmer, literally any farmer on the side of the road selling olive oil, I stop and buy.
It sounds heavenly. I swear it sounds heavenly. It feels heavenly. And that's another thing. It's warm here and I resonate to heat. And so I get sad in the winter even here. And then as soon as that sun comes out, it's like, there you are. I'm back.
Okay, I was getting a little worried about myself. Well, I hope you get to stay there for a while because this sounds like your happy place. We've been here three years and we plan to reside in Malta, actually. Oh, I love that. Yeah. You know, there's something about feeling happy. And happiness and joy are two different things. I agree. And I think that bursts of joy, you need to recognize them.
for what they are. And so many people just go on in life and they're so busy driving forward, forward, forward, forward to a goal. And I've done videos on this and I know that you mentioned it in your video. So often we don't celebrate the small wins. I hope you celebrate it. Each time a farmer said, sure, come on over. Yeah.
And, you know, that you tried something different. And I know that you did. I'm certain of it. Just listening to you now. But so often we don't celebrate the small steps on our way. And every day is its own day. The past is gone. The future is coming. All we have is really the present. And that's today. Yeah.
That's today. And you know, celebrating the small things, I actually have a chapter in there, or at least the beginning of it saying celebrate everything. Right. The title of it. And what I remind us is how do you celebrate everything? The very first step is it starts with your breath. It's remembering that you are alive right now at this time in the world history on this planet. And where there is breath, there is hope. And
And so we start small and work our way, because I'll be honest, this book, it's, I have a hard time just celebrating the win and saying, yes, the book's out because it's all my farmers are mentioned in there. And so I so badly want this to go big, big,
because I want people to know who they are. And then I have to step back and go, all right, you got to take, you got to stop putting this pressure on yourself and just enjoy that you did do a book and that you did Malta Proud and that it's endorsed by the tourism minister. He wrote the foreword. And the only reason I got that foreword, I'll tell you this, I pushed for that foreword for six months when his assistant kept saying, oh, you'll get it, you'll get it. And I got nothing.
And then I called my farmer, the same guy that I did the capers with this morning. I called, he kept saying, did you get it? I called him and I said, why is this so hard? Why can I not get someone to support that? I'm writing about Malta and my love for it. There's nothing, you know, ill will in here. And he said, you know, his father's a farmer. He, we were born together, raised together. I'm calling his dad. And so he calls me back and the, and his dad, Joseph gets on. He goes, what is it? What's happened? What's happened? I
And I'm like, hi, I'm Emily. Please don't be mad at Tony. But I wrote this book and I really needed to be endorsed. He's like, okay, I'm giving you my phone number and you're going to text me everything that's happened. I said, okay. So I texted him that I've talked over and over to the PA and that I can't get through. And I had the forward by noon the next day.
Well, it's a shame that you are not determined either. But, you know, again, you come back to your network and your environment and people who surround you. You have surrounded yourself with like-minded people and those who cherish what you're doing. And, you know, that is a celebration in and of its own. I love the fact that
too that you know capers I've never seen a live caper it's a tree with bear it's a berry correct it's a it's a big bush in fact if you go onto my Facebook even right now I posted videos or even my Instagram I posted videos already and then soon Oh My Malta will come out with the official interview video okay if you go to Oh My Malta dot com dot mt and you click on cuisine you
you will drop down to Emily in Malta and there will be three full pages of wall-to-wall interviews that I have done every single month faithfully for two years of every food that's coming into season month by month. So you'll see different farmers, anybody that you hear in my book. If you read my book, and I only mention their first names in the book, but if you go to Omey Malta, you can see their whole story.
can see them and their home and their farm and their foods and and their story and it's just it's spectacular and i'm i'm so honored that i get to be a voice for people that are so protective of their space and yet let me come in and highlight and and show them off because these people could easily be passed by if you're not looking but they're really just the most
I think they're hidden treasures that have been just hiding here in Malta, you know, all this time because they they're born and raised here and they learn from their father and their grandfather and their grandfather's grandfather. And they they live on the same farm in the same home. They're born and raised there. And then when they have children, they bring them in and they build a second level onto the home. And I love that multigenerational. So much wisdom is passed down so much camaraderie. So, I mean, every family has their own story.
idiosyncrasies, let's put it that way. But if you're raised with a great respect for the wisdom of those who went before you, that's fabulous.
You know, it's interesting, too, because I find all these stories to be like they nourish me. They make my heart happy. But my my editors, who I love and adore. But like I said, they are 20 years younger than me. So we'll go to these farmers and my editors are like, can you keep this like five minutes? Can you make it eight minutes tops? Like, OK, I'm done listening to this. Let's let's wrap it up. And so when the magazine comes out, I go back over by myself and drop off a copy and I sit at the table and let them tell me anything they want to tell me.
Because I love these stories, but I also understand people have work to do. But I would never want someone to feel like I'm here just for this interview and now I've got it. So I'm good. Thanks. You gave them and give them the gift of your time. There's nothing more precious.
It's true. And there's a sister island over here, Gozo, and you have to take the ferry. And it's really an easy thing. But for some reason, we act like it's a big deal to get over to Gozo. And every time I go over, I think, why do I always think this is some big shindig? It's really fun.
But when I do, I have my three farmers. I have my sea salt pans over there. I have the man who made the saltiest cheese. It's called Spagnet. And it's from sheep and goat's milk. And he's a sheep and goat farmer. And then I have my beekeeper. And I go buy my honey over there every time. So when I get off the ferry, I go right to the salt pans. And I visit Josephine. And then her parents have been married for 53 years. And they sit in rocking chairs at the salt shop and greet everyone that comes. So I go right away. And they have
cookies ready for my children. And they're just, and as soon as I did the first interview with Josephine, I drove off and she texted and she said, okay, now you are family. Anything you ever need, you just say. And she has been so gracious and wonderful to my family. But
But I love that I go visit. So I don't just, you know, visit just the one time with the magazine. I really try to maintain my relationships with them because when they're, it seems like this younger generation isn't farming with them. Most of them are not taking over the family business. They're going into tech and things like that. And so when they go, a lot of this wisdom may go down with them. And I want to remedy that. Do you feel like you're keeping it alive?
I'm trying my very best to do at least some. Yes. Well, it sounds as though you are. And it's not unusual for third generation or more to want different things. And let's face it, the world is so much with us these days that it's hard to appreciate the simpler things that sustain us.
And I that's what I'm hearing in all of the first of all, sea salt, goat cheese. I mean, I mean, honey, you're making me hungry. But this is also what life is so to be enjoyed. It is such a gift.
And so you are living it to the fullest. And I can't wait to read the book. It is just I love the part where you said it's about time or time. T-H-Y-M-E, the herb, because it's savory and sweet. And so is life.
It's true. And you know, and I'm not, it's funny when I first started writing these articles, my, my husband's boss, his wife is from Italy and she's an amazing cook. And she and I took some classes at the Mediterranean culinary Academy together. But when I said, okay, I'm going to write these articles. She's like, you better get in the kitchen and learn your recipes. And I looked at her and I was like, I don't, I'm not,
the chef. I'm not writing recipes. I'm learning from the farmers. You've totally missed what I'm doing here. I'm doing one single ingredient at a time. One fish, one food, capers, honey, prickly pears, almonds, strawberries, peaches. You know, it's, it's that I don't need to know anything because I'm not going to come in and override what they're teaching me. I'm going to go in as a, as a open whiteboard that they can draw on and share the story.
There is such joy and uplift in your tone of voice as well. And I think that that pulls people in. Being an expat is not for everyone. It can be very, very challenging to live in a place that you sometimes had visited, but you have jumped in with both feet. Your family has jumped in. I think it's just a marvelous way that you have picked up
all of the flavors, if you'll pardon the pun, of Malta. I'm so grateful to be here and to have gotten the opportunities and to have created the opportunities that I came in. I came in kind of, you know, really rolling, ready to roll, jump and run. And it's worked out for me. And your family, it sounds like.
They're really happy here. And the school system is amazing. And my children are really, really happy. There's so many kids from around the world and they've learned so much. And it's a safe place. It's a safe place to go. And that's a big deal. That was one of my main reasons for coming here. I love that. Emily, we've run out of time, but I am really pleased that you have come on and shared all this exuberance. I love it.
Be sure that you, listeners, go to emilyafrancisbooks.com and watch her short video. It just continues with the joy that she has shared in her tone and in her words on our program today. And thank you for sharing your wisdom. And I just wish you so much luck with your fig trees. That's super exciting. Thank you.
Thank you, Linda. Thanks for having me. And the book is available on audio by me. I recorded it. Oh, you recorded it in your own voice? You can get the audio version or, yes. Oh, that's even better. And when does the next one come out? The next one hasn't been pitched yet. Just a matter of time. Thank you again. Everyone, make it a great week ahead and keep the joy and exuberance that you hear in Emily's voice in your world this week. Make it a great one.
Thank you for tuning in today. You can find more shows at wisehealthforwomenradio.com.