SKU: 93377712760

Running Away to Home

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Description

Running Away to HomeA middle class, Midwestern family in search of meaning uproot themselves and move to their ancestral village in Croatia We can look at this in two ways, Jim wrote, always the pragmatist. We can panic and scrap the whole idea. Or we can take this as a sign. They're saying the economy is going to get worse before it gets better. Maybe this is the kick in the pants we needed to do something completely different. There will always be an excuse not to go

A middle class, Midwestern family in search of meaning uproot themselves and move to their ancestral village in Croatia

We can look at this in two ways, Jim wrote, always the pragmatist. We can panic and scrap the whole idea. Or we can take this as a sign. They're saying the economy is going to get worse before it gets better. Maybe this is the kick in the pants we needed to do something completely different. There will always be an excuse not to go...

And that, friends, is how a typically sane middle-aged mother decided to drag her family back to a forlorn mountain village in the backwoods of Croatia.

So begins the author's journey in Running Away to Home. Jen, her architect husband, Jim, and their two children had been living the typical soccer- and ballet-practice life in the most Middle American of places: Des Moines, Iowa. They overindulged themselves and their kids, and as a family they were losing one another in the rush of work, school, and activities. One day, Jen and her husband looked at each other-both holding their Starbucks coffee as they headed out to their SUV in the mall parking lot, while the kids complained about the inferiority of the toys they just got-and asked themselves: Is this the American dream? Because if it is, it sort of sucks.

Jim and Jen had always dreamed of taking a family sabbatical in another country, so when they lost half their savings in the stock-market crash, it seemed like just a crazy enough time to do it. High on wanderlust, they left the troubled landscape of contemporary America for the Croatian mountain village of Mrkopalj, the land of Jennifer's ancestors. It was a village that seemed hermetically sealed for the last one hundred years, with a population of eight hundred (mostly drunken) residents and a herd of sheep milling around the post office. For several months they lived like locals, from milking the neighbor's cows to eating roasted pig on a spit to desperately seeking the village recipe for bootleg liquor. As the Wilson-Hoff family struggled to stay sane (and warm), what they found was much deeper and bigger than themselves.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
Published: 10/02/2012
ISBN: 9781250014016
Pages: 334
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.10h x 5.40w x 1.00d
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SKU: 93377712760

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Lucy
Battle Creek, US
★★★★★ 5
smells luxurious
smells so luxurious. i am on my third bottle and just purchased the fragance as well as the bar soap. thats how much i love the fragance. i wills say, its really intense smell so dont recommend if you are sensitive to strong/lingering smells. leaves my skin super soft. great value for the money, honestly suprised that is not more expensive. its advertised for men but i use it too and love. definetly good for women too who like intense woody/smoky scents.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2025
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Wanzi
Natrona Heights, US
★★★★★ 4
Great Value
You are getting a lot for the money when you get this body wash. It smells great and is an overall wonderful product.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2026
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Ehul Roscoe Davis
Port Orchard, US
★★★★★ 5
Smells so good
Love this stuff! Very concentrated. A little goes a long way. Smells amazing and leaves your skin soft and smooth.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2026
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Christopher McMakin
Waukegan, US
★★★★★ 5
A major upgrade from standard drugstore brands—sophisticated scent & better lather.
I have been a long-time user of standard body washes (think Old Spice, Axe, or Dove Men), but I kept seeing hype about Cremo and decided to see if it was worth the slightly higher price tag. After using the 32oz Spice & Black Vanilla for a week, I can confidently say this is a massive upgrade for your shower routine. ​Here is how it stacks up against the typical grocery store brands: ​1. The Scent is on another level: Most cheaper washes smell like generic "Sport" or "Ocean" cologne. This scent is much more complex and earthy. ​Top Notes: It starts with a sharp, spicy kick (that's the cardamom). ​Finish: It settles into a smooth, warm vanilla and tobacco scent. It smells more like a high-end department store fragrance than a soap. ​Staying Power: The scent actually lingers. If you shower in the morning, you will still catch subtle hints of the warm spices for a few hours, which pairs really well with woody colognes. ​2. Performance & Feel: The consistency is thicker than what I'm used to. You only need one solid pump to get a rich lather with a loofah. Crucially, it rinses clean without leaving that "squeaky" residue that dries out your skin, but it also doesn't leave a slick oily film like some ultra-moisturizing washes do. It hits a perfect balance. ​3. Value: The 32oz bottle is substantial. Because the gel is concentrated, I expect this bottle to last 3-4 months easily, making the cost per ounce very reasonable compared to buying smaller bottles of cheaper stuff every few weeks. ​Pros: ​Sophisticated, "grown-up" scent profile. ​High-quality pump (sturdy, doesn't clog). ​Non-drying formula is great for colder months. ​Cons: ​Potency: The scent is strong. If you are sensitive to fragrance or prefer unscented products, this might be overwhelming. The bathroom will smell like it for a good 20 minutes after you're done (which I enjoy, but keep it in mind). ​Verdict: This bridges the gap between basic hygiene and luxury grooming. If you are tired of smelling like "Blue Sport" and want something warmer and more refined for the fall/winter, this is absolutely worth the switch.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2025
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Dan Sungail
Louisville, US
★★★★★ 5
It smells as good as my cologne.
I never go out without a shot of Guerlain L'Homme Idéal L'Intense cologne. Guerlain does not offer a layered line of products with similar scents. I wanted a deodorant and body wash to match. None of the Old Spice scents came close. Axe Oud Wood & Dark Vanilla antiperspirant has more vanilla and is a bit subdued but works. Finding a body wash was harder. Cremo Spice & Black Vanilla Body Wash sounded promising, but I was apprehensive about its scent including tobacco. I did not want to smell like an ashtray. But when I opened the bottle, I was met with a surprising scent from the past. I immediately recognized it as premium Danish pipe tobacco. Most people do not recognize this aromatic scent as coming from tobacco at all. In fact, it smells more like fresh cured tobacco itself, not its smoke. This adds a very pleasant and masculine smell to the body wash on top of the spice, wood, and vanilla scent I was searching for. The scent only lasts a few hours after you rinse off. One push on the dispenser puts enough soap on a shower loofah to wash your whole body. I do not rinse off my loofah; I squeeze the soap out of it to wash my face, then I place it back in its tray next to the bottle. The scent of the remaining soap acts like incense until my next shower. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that this body soap has a rich lather and cleans as well as advertised. I had forgotten the reason I bought the body soap until I used it.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2026

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