Kim Dinan

I had never heard about this author before reading the book and now I'm interested to read her blog to read some of her other travel adventures in detail (since the book could only cover so much).

What would you do if you decided to quit your comfy life and travel full-time with no end date in sight? That is what Kim and Brian (her husband) did. But just before they go on their travel they are given an yellow envelope from a friend which has money in it and they are told to give away the money following the three rules (don't overthink it, share your experiences if you want, don't feel pressed to give it all away). Which may seem easy but it's hard especially since you are travelling.

If you are thinking or dreaming about travelling for a length of time that doesn't have an end time, or you are no wanting to do what all the tourists do then consider reading this book.

The pacing felt right, the author in some spots could have kept going on in more detail but didn't.

The book begins with a story then later in the book it comes back to that story, which felt confusing and I had to stop reading and try to figure out what part of the story I was in. Once I did I almost wanted to go back and read the story at the beginning again to get context.

I do hope the author writes another book which I liked her style of writing.

There are some awesome quotes that come from this book (which may have some spoilers):

"Even if we were doing some irrevocable damage to our futures by taking this trip, at least the yellow envelope guaranteed that something good would come out of it."

"It dawned on me that I was doing that annoying thing that tourists do when they’re trying to speak to someone in a foreign country. I talked slowly and emphatically, though not, unfortunately, in the native language."

"But even if it was, I just couldn’t help myself, because I was overcome with an incredible sense of freedom. Standing there in the middle of a little Ecuadorian town, sopping wet and laughing, I wasn’t sure that I’d ever felt so alive."

"Finally, one of them said, with a bit of condescension, “Kim’s never made a mistake in her life.” At the time I’d shrugged off the comment, but I couldn’t let it go. It haunted me as I lay in bed at night dreaming of changing my life. My coworker had been wrong about me. I’d made the biggest mistake of all: I’d spent my entire life playing it safe."

"It was stupid to think that there was some grand purpose for my life. All I wanted was to close my eyes and wake up in my own bed, take a shower in my own bathroom and have an easy life again."

"I wondered if maybe that wasn’t a blessing. The teams ahead of us were cruising along without problems, but they were missing out on something incredible: the extraordinary kindness that appeared out of nowhere each time that we broke down."

"But I was angry too. Because I didn’t want it to be the way it was. I wanted it to be easy. I wanted to be happy. But I’d ignored the truth, and it’d gotten me nowhere."

"Those things had always been there! But I had never seen them. The same was true of everything in my life. I’d upturned so many rocks, scavenged like the starving for the missing pieces of myself, just to learn that I’d held them all along."

"“This would be a good time to have an invisibility cloak,” said Brian, as he slung his backpack onto his shoulders."

"It occurred to me that so many of those vacationers never left home, even while away. They wanted the comforts of home repackaged in a foreign land. They had traveled to a different country, but they wanted to stay in a world they knew. Travelers wanted to enter other worlds. That was the difference."

"More than once I’d lamented to Brian about how backward I thought it was that our culture accepted that people spent lots of money on houses and new cars and buried themselves under mountains of debt but that saving up a modest pile of cash and then spending it on traveling could be considered irresponsible and selfish."

"Our yellow envelope donations were not changing the world, but I hoped that by doing something intentional and kind, no matter how small, they might change the energy that the recipient released into it. "… (altro)

The yellow envelope, one gift, three rules, and a life-changing journey around the world by Kim Dinan
Love hearing of the locations and things they learn at each new location.
Starts in India where Kim and Wendy are traveling through. Like this author already as she's straight forward and descriptive about things that matter to me.
Back in time we find Kim quitting her job and her husband Brian are going to travel the world.
Three years prior she wanted to just write from Oregon as her run calms her.
Like the time they spend together searching for themselves and discovering themselves alone and apart.
Feel like this is two stories in one: one about the trips around the world and the other story is about them as they travel around the world.
From NLS for my BARD… (altro)

THE YELLOW ENVELOPE:
One Gift, Three Rules and a Life-Changing Journey Around the World
Kim Dinan

My Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️▫️▫️
Publisher Sourcebooks
Published April 2017

SUMMARY
What would you do if you were going backpacking around the world and friends gave you a thousand dollars to do with as you choose? That's what happen to Kim and Brian Dinan. Their friends Michele and Glen Crim told them to give the money away any way they want. But there were three rules: (1)Don't over-think it, (2) Share your experiences, and (3) Don't feel pressured to give it all away.

"When I left on this journey with the yellow envelope tucked into my purse I thought I had something to share with the world. And I did. But what I didn't realize was that the world had something to share with me too. The people I met were teaching me not just how to give the yellow envelope but how to live it. The unknown no longer seemed a threat, but a gift. Could it be that the world wanted to help me, if only I'd allow it?"

Initially, Kim and Brian had trouble deciding what to do with the money in the yellow envelope. It wasn't as easy as they thought it would be. Their first giveaway was in a tiny town in Ecuador where they had been working as volunteers for a nonprofit promoting literacy and arts to children. They purchased a memorial brick to offset the cost of a newly built theater and had Michele and Glen's name inscribed on the brick. The second gift was on an island in Peru, to a couple who had allowed Kim and Brian to stay in their modest adobe home for two nights. The couple hope to be able to send their two daughters to school on the mainland. Kim and Brian thought this money might help a little.

REVIEW
Love, love love the concept of the yellow envelope. The book is worth the read for this alone! Would love to see all of us tuck some money in our back pocket and follow these same principles. Why not? And we don't even really have to travel anywhere to do it. Need is everywhere. If this book could motivate others to adopt this concept it would be awesome.

"The thing about the yellow envelope was, it made ordinary interactions more meaningful. And it taught me how to give, not just give money, but to give of myself."

Kim is honest in her writing about her feelings. She intimately discusses her fears, anxiety, doubts and concerns about her decision to travel and about her marriage. It was a little much at times, but understandable give the major change occurring in her life. Traveling as a couple proved to be difficult. The trip turns into a journey of self discovery for both she and Brian. Most of the book focuses on what she learned along the way. Her writing is nice. Two of my favorite quotes:

"I could see now that it was possible to live a long life poorly, or a short life well, and that at any moment one might shift their position and, after years of hibernation, decide to crawl out of the den and live."

"I'd upturned so many rocks, scavenged like the starving for the missing pieces of myself, just to learn that I'd held them all along."

I would highly recommend this book to anyone is considering becoming a traveler like Kim and Brian did. But also think it is a great read for those wishing to do more for others.

I was a little disappointed that there was not more descriptions of places Kim and Brian traveled. I did not feeling like I had always had a good grasp of the places they visited. Would have loved to hear more details about the interesting sights they saw in the places they wrote about in Ecuador, Peru, India, Nepal, Indonesia, Vietnam and Mexico. Pictures might have been helpful. Particularly of those who were the recipients of the money from the yellow envelope. I really wanted to see the slide show that Michele and Greg got to see!

"I'd gone traveling, seeking something that I could not quite define, but hopefully that I would know it when I found it. I had found it, though the definition of what it was still eluded me." --Kim DInan… (altro)