Wayfaring Stranger: A Musical Journey in the American South by Emma John is a memoir about how she joined a bluegrass band in the Appalachian mountains and mastered one of the most technically challenging genres of music. John interweaves her travels across Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina with a brief history of bluegrass and it definitely helps to seek out a playlist to accompany the book. She was mostly based in Boone, North Carolina where she met some of the bluegrass legends and received some true southern hospitality from musically talented locals. John studied violin at school to an advanced level but neglected the instrument for several years after she finished her education. It was fascinating to read her descriptions of learning how to improvise bluegrass on an emotional level in contrast to the rigidly structured way she had been taught to perform in classical orchestras. ’Wayfaring Stranger’ is well worth a read if you enjoy travel memoirs or musical journeys with a difference.