Catching Up With...Amy Wood

What are you up to these days? 

I'm having lots of fun promoting my book and the Speakers Cooperative, a venture I just launched with two authors/motivational speakers. 

When I'm not engaged in my professional passions these days, I'm grieving the loss of our backyard pool which gets closed down at the end of September, training for my first ½ marathon, checking out the new fall TV line-up, and generally embracing the splendor of autumn in New England....picking apples and baking apple pie, hiking amid the riot of gorgeous fall colors, that sort of thing.

Who would play you in a movie about your life? 

Dana Delaney. People say I look like her, and I like the way she looks. Plus, with all the work she has done, she'll likely still look young enough to play me in my prime by the time I'm dead and gone.

Where is your favorite vacation?

I love visiting my mother-in-law in Montreal. She lives downtown in the heart of everything, so I can walk anywhere - and she has this incredible coffee machine in the lobby of her building that makes vanilla lattes to die for! The best part about Montreal is that it's a 5 ½ hour drive from where I live and it has a European feel so it's like being in another world.

How do you spend your Saturdays?

Yard sales in the morning with my yard sale buddy Julie, then catching up with my husband, two step kids, two dogs, and two cats. (I've been told that all I need is another husband and I'll have Noah's Ark).

What's your favorite restaurant?

The Ramp, a hole-in-the-wall with perfect ambiance, a view of the ocean, and consistently delicious, reasonably-priced food. My husband and I go there whenever we can. The place is always packed, so we sit in Adirondack chairs watching the sun set over the ocean and sipping cocktails while we wait for our table. Then we unwind over a leisurely dinner.

Favorite TV show?

Damages - a true escape because it's totally riveting. And Frasier reruns - a great way to end the day; that show plays like a classy French farce and it really makes me laugh.

Favorite movie?

Manhattan - I fell in love with New York when I saw it at 15, and every time I watch it I love NYC more - because that movie exquisitely captures the stimulation, magic, and artistry of the Big Apple.

Where are you traveling to next?

Atlanta for Thanksgiving. My husband and I spend Thanksgiving with three other couples every year and we take turns hosting. So Thanksgiving is always in Chicago; Madison, Wisconsin; Atlanta; or our house in Maine.

Favorite adult beverage?

In the summer: mango and mint sangria by the pool. In the winter: white Russians by the fire.

Celebrity you'd really like to meet or in your case, the one you most enjoyed meeting?

Definitely Gloria Steinem. She's my idea of a genuine heroine.