Debut Memoir
When the Church Burns Down, Cancel the Wedding
Adventures from the other half of single
Hilarious, inspiring, and thoroughly authentic, Sara E. Braca’s debut memoir takes readers along on her post-divorce adventures around the world, sharing a life lived fully – if untraditionally – and proving that joy can always be found in unexpected places.
When the church burned down a week before her wedding, Sara Braca somehow did not perceive this as an omen. Six years after marrying (in a different church), an errant call from 1-800-Flowers alerted her to her then-husband’s affair. And as one unhappy chapter ended, she found herself writing a very different, much happier story.
An aspiring globe-trotter, Braca realized this was her opportunity to see the world. Solo travel became her first step to finding happiness, strength, and peace in her new life. From disastrous celebrity encounters to getting naked with colleagues at the Dead Sea to being adopted by a family of Greek hoteliers, Braca blends the everyday and the outrageous as she learns that there’s no one-size-fits-all model for a happy life.
When the Church Burns Down, Cancel the Wedding introduces a vibrant new voice, chronicling the triumphs, tragedies, and unexpected joys of modern solo living, and offers lessons in creating a unique and satisfying happily-ever-after of one’s own.
Sara E. Braca
Sara E. Braca has always been curious about pretty much everything, which almost explains how she accidentally became a Renaissance woman living in a medieval Italian city. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Wharton, she is now a solo traveler, marketing executive, yoga instructor, cat mom, and wine enthusiast. Her passion for finding joy in her single life and empowering others to do the same drove her to add “debut memoirist” to this list. She lives in Tuscany.
Braca’s debut memoir, When the Church Burns Down, Cancel the Wedding, will be available this fall in bookstores, libraries, and wherever you buy books online.
“A delightful travelogue and memoir.”
– Kirkus Reviews
When the Church Burns Down, Cancel the Wedding made me want to get married so I could get divorced and head straight to Santorini.”
– Rachel Dratch
Author of Girl Walks into a Bar
“A rallying cry for all of us to live as though every day is an adventure waiting to unfold. Whether you’re flying solo or not, Braca’s independence and positivity are contagious.”
– Suzanne Lenzer
author of Graze and Truly, Madly Pizza
“A warm-hearted, inspiring story of a woman who gets deposited into single life, unexpectedly and unhappily, by a divorce, and then uses her newfound freedom to travel the world, meet her true love (a place, not a person), and become a wiser, bolder, and more joyful person. Great fun to read; like hearing your favorite, wittiest friend tell you the unvarnished versions of her favorite stories.”
– Bella DePaulo
Author of Singled Out and How We Live Now
“When the Church Burns Down, Cancel the Wedding is a descriptive, engaging and hilarious ode to the transformative power of travel. I felt like I was right there along with Sara! A great read for the armchair adventurer in all of us.”
– Lisa Phillips
Owner and Travel Designer, Bella Europa Travel
“If Nancy Meyers and David Sedaris had a love child, then sent her to a very strict boarding school, she might turn out something like Sara Braca: unflinchingly honest, decidedly offbeat, and funny as hell.”