www.montereycountynow.com NOVEMBER 6-12, 2025 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 33 LIT For writer Alison van Diggelen and her husband, Carmel has always been a romantic gateway from Silicon Valley, where she had spent years covering tech, business, psychology and health for the BBC. The dream of living in the community came true in 2020, and since then van Diggelen has been exploring Carmel. Carmelites inspired van Diggelen to write a book about love—a collection of love stories that combine the art of oral history and a journalistic attention to a meaningful detail, published in October as The Love Project. One of the first interviews for this unique nonfiction book—van Diggelen’s first (she always wanted to write one, she says)—was the one she did with her neighbor, thinking she was reporting for the BBC about longevity. Van Diggelen’s neighbor devoted all his love and attention to taking care of his mother, who was turning 100. “Shortly after, when I was walking my dog, I met a lady who confessed to me she was having an affair with a married man,” van Diggelen says. “We were standing in the street with our dogs.” Once she encountered a couple more stories like that—about love, but not necessarily a romantic love and not necessarily a happy love—van Diggelen knew this was going to be a book. “One interview would lead to another,” she says. “I would interview someone and they’d say: ‘Oh my goodness, you need to interview this person.’” Among The Love Project stories, a reader can find an account of a woman named Laura who lost her child, or Greg, the piper who considers the beach in Carmel a cathedral where he can play his music and share his grief with the world after his father’s suicide. Many of the stories are full of pain, but van Diggelen hopes they’re ultimately uplifting. It was moving to Carmel that made van Diggelen focus on love, a common experience of humanity. Her mentor is Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat, Pray, Love fame, who published in 2025 a new book, titled All the Way to the River: Love, Loss and Liberation. “She is a bit of an inspiration to me,” van Diggelen says. “She talks about how the world is famished, yearning for love right now.” She is not finished covering Silicon Valley, either. “I still got my finger on the pulse,” she says, “but my focus is on human stories.” The Love Project by Alison van Diggelen book launch takes place at 6pm Friday, Nov. 7. Pilgrim’s Way Community Bookstore, Dolores and 5th, Carmel. Free. (831) 624-4955, pilgrimsway.com. DANIEL DREIFUSS Cherishing Carmel In her debut book, The Love Project, BBC journalist Alison van Diggelen finds a trove of human stories. By Agata Popęda There are so many stories about love around that Alison van Diggelen is considering writing a second volume of The Love Project. www.folktalewinery.com UPCOMING EVENTS MONDAY DEALS CARMEL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: GREAT BOWLS OF FIRE CHILI COOK-OFF SUNDAY NOV 9 CELEBRATION DINNER HARVEST SATURDAY NOV 15 EARLY CYBER Great Deals on Incredible Wines! SHOP EVENTS
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