The book has finally arrived from the printing house! A whole day before the launch party!
Tartu. 22.05.2025
Only once in a lifetime can my very first book launch take place, accompanied by the song of nightingales! And what a rock ’n’ roll celebration it turned out to be!
When I began writing this book, I could never have imagined that in fragrant May we would be sitting around a bonfire, savoring wonderful treats, clinking glasses, and celebrating the release of Finding Ecstasy!
I am so deeply grateful that you came and made this evening so joyful and unforgettable.
Photos: Ingrid Saare
*****
Tallinn. 23.05.2025
My heart is singing and overflowing with gratitude to you, dear friends and fellow travelers, for coming to celebrate the birth of my book—even though I hadn’t seen some of you for thirty years. We gathered in the Kalamaja garden while the blackbirds sang in the trees, and, for some reason, the promised rain spared us.
Photos: Kadi Berlokko
*****
Rapla. 25.05.2025
At the launch in Rapla Cultural Center, on the stomping grounds of my youth, a whole crowd of Rock Stars featured in the book showed up! From the bottom of my heart, thank you for taking the time out of your precious Sunday to spend it with me.
I must say—I really love this whole book launch thing!
*****
Never in my life could I have imagined that stories left untold might weigh so heavily! Now, with the book released into the world, it feels as if I’ve dropped a huge hiking backpack from my shoulders with thud!
Ever since, 27 years ago, after that life-changing discovery trip to Ibiza, when my travelogue spilled onto the pages of Eesti Ekspress and, five years later, was finally bound into Üks Segikammind Reisipäevik, I’ve carried in my heart a little longing to someday tell the prelude to that story: “Ahh! That Ibiza journey has such a juicy backstory… Without it, everything feels a bit incomplete…”
But then life swept me along for a couple of decades in a whirlwind adventure.
The Life’s Work of Motherhood and all the other rock ’n’ roll meant writing remained only a dream.
A dream I dreamed about—pretty much once a day.
So the moment life gifted me those precious months of freedom, I seized the chance to finally live the life of a Mad Writer—ecstatically!
The closing section of Finding Ecstasy is that very same Ibiza travelogue that was “Üks Segikammind reisikiri”. But this time with a difference: back then, it was written by a young girl who had never yet felt anything resembling love. Now, those diaries have been revisited and shaped into a book by a woman who has.
Most of the book tells of the time and experiences leading up to that journey. Readers who were young in the 1990s have told me that while reading, it felt as if the book had been written about their own lives.
This is the first volume in a nine-part series of Kalevitütar. The Daughter of Kalev (the hero of estonian sagas). Eight more stories are already pressing to be told.
Summer is for freedom, for wandering, for rewilding in nature and recharging the soul’s batteries… In autumn, the time for writing will return.
I thank from the bottom of my heart everyone who made this book’s release—and those soul-stirring launch events—possible!
My legendary publisher, Madli Zobel of MadLiTerature, with whom I instantly recognized our shared spark of madness when we met last summer at Epp’s birthday party—and with whom I hope to march forward side by side. Editors, designers, test readers—all working diligently for months.
Epp Petrone—for giving the book a boost with her kind words.
Of course, my dearest friends who saved the day at the launches—Ingrid, Andrei, Karin, Madli, Viva, Merje, Märt, Rika, Gaida—without whom everything would have turned out far more chaotic, since on all three days I was exactly one hour short of being calmly prepared. The floating sauna crew on the Emajõgi, The Mother River —patiently and regularly offering their thoughts in answer to the flailing author’s endless questions. Irina and Elo—the tireless angel-hands behind the rich and colorful festive tables! The Tartu University Café’s pastry chef—for the city’s finest “kringel”. And all of you, dear friends, who came even though I hadn’t seen some of you in decades.
And, of course—you, my dear readers!
*****
