Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I borrowed this on audiobook from my library.

Thoughts: This was okay. It was interesting to watch a family travel around the world. However, I was hoping for more interesting adventures on their travels. This book spends quite a bit of time reflecting on religion, mental health, and how the best times were the times they spent were during their rests. These were times where they stayed in a single place doing regular everyday things as a family. It spends less time explaining the challenges of travel and the intriguing things they did.

I was hoping for more of a strategic and action based story about how they traveled the world and what they spent their time seeing. A lot of this story seems to be more about the author's own personal struggles to find a place where she feels like she belongs. The answer in the end should surprise nobody, you feel most at home where your friends and family are. After seeing the whole world they settle down in the place you would expect them to settle down in. I did learn that two things seem to be consistent throughout the world: pizza and friend potatoes of some sort. I also did appreciate that the author didn't shrug away from the cost of travel and addressed how they were able to do much of their trip fairly cheaply.

The author initially sets this up as a book to support why you should travel with your family even if you have young kids. I have traveled a lot both for work and with my family. I whole-heartedly agree with this, you should have your kids on planes and traveling early. It teaches them a lot about needs and wants, about other people, and helps them to be accountable for themselves. When you travel you get into tough situations and traveling when you are young helps you realize you can be resilient in these situations. However, I was disappointed that by the end of the book the message was more focused on the fact that the most important things in life are things you can't travel to get. It just felt like an inconsistent story and messaging.

The author narrates this herself and you can definitely tell. The narration was stiff sounding without a lot of inflection. I would recommend skipping the audiobook and reading (not listening to) this if it sounds intriguing to you.

My Summary (3/5): Overall this was okay. I was hoping that this would dive into the logistics of traveling and the wonders this family saw. However, much of the book is spent on the author's religious/spiritual journey and on her need to find a place to belong. I also found that the message she gives at the end of the book somewhat negates her initial message which was an inconsistency that bothered me. I think this might be for people who are less analytical than I am and more interested in hearing about a woman's internal spiritual journey coupled with traveling the world with her family. ( )

I was looking forward to this book, and really wanted to like it. It's the memoir of a woman who with her husband and 3 children (allotted a backpack each) took off a year to travel around the world. But instead of a book in which we got the feel and atmosphere and culture and ethos of lots of countries (or even a few), we mostly heard about how arduous travel was, how tired they were when they got there, and then a few facts that looked like they were randomly pulled from a google search or a wiki article. A lot of the book involved her personal issues. For example, one of the first places they visited (after China) was a town in Thailand known for medical tourism. It was a town she had had an extended stay in several years before at a time she was severely depressed and needed therapy. She chose to visit the town again, seeking a spiritual advisor for her psychic ennui.

There were a few interesting parts, like visiting the source of the Nile. But for the most part it was very mundane, and most of the episodes lacked an authentic sense of place. Here's Singapore. Arrive at the airport. Let the kids play on the playground at the airport while she and her husband drink a cup of coffee. Go to their hostel which is white and clean. The next morning go to a park and let the kids play. After lunch, she's tired, so her husband takes the kids somewhere for the afternoon and she naps. The next day they leave for Australia. I mention Singapore because I was there for 9 months (many years ago), and it's multicultural, exciting and there's lots to see and do and experience. I know on a year long trip you have down days, but why even include them in the book?

And several of the Amazon reviews mention glaring errors. One I noted is that when they were going to Sri Lanka in her lackluster description she mentions it is known for growing spices like "vanilla, nutmeg, curry and cinnamon." That jarred. As far as I know "curry" is not a spice in and of itself but a combination of several spices.

So, although the book had a great premise, it fails in execution, and is very superficial and rather boring. Not recommended.

1 1/2 stars ( )

I love a good travel memoir, and this is one of the best ones I've read. The author made me actually want to visit these countries rather than just enjoy reading about her family's travels through Asia, Australia, Africa, and Europe. She and her wanderlust husband traveled on a budget with three young children and, not only survived, but became closer as a family.

The countries that spoke to me the most were Thailand, New Zealand, Morocco, and Turkey. I have always wanted to visit New Zealand, but the draw of the other countries came as a surprise and were the result of Oxenreider's appealing descriptions. In all they spent nine months living in twenty different countries and found something to love about each one of them. The home-schooled children made friends without knowing the different languages and learned that laughter and play are the same all over the world.

The author sums up their year of lugging their backpacks around four continents with these heartfelt words:

"Traveling means touching, tasting, smelling the world. It means the chance to explore hamlets and boroughs that citizens the world over call home. Through travel, you can know, firsthand, the difference in taste between the bread in Sri Lanka and Turkey. You'll add years to your life with more layers, thicker skin, and a softer heart because of it. Travel is a gift." (258) ( )

It's hard to explain the ways this book tugged on my heart. It made me think of every trip I've taken; every exploration of an unknown city, every awkward moment struggling with a language I didn't know. I loved the nostalgia I felt while thinking of my backpacking days and the hope it gave me when I think of traveling with my own daughter as she grows older.

The book paints a beautiful picture of someone who is both the traveler and homebody. That's a description that's rare and yet I believe I share it with the author. I will never grow tired of exploring new horizons, but those trips are always made sweeter by knowing I have a home to return to.

I loved reading about their adventures. Tsh is honest about their struggles with culture shock or exhaustion, but at the same she marvels at the beauty of their surroundings. It feels like they are truly present in each country, not just skipping in to see one or two touristy things.

BOTTOM LINE: I loved this one. It was everything I hoped it would be. It’s got me itching to get back out there and explore a new country soon! It's a beautiful way to see the world, with your children and your spouse hand-in-hand.

"The act of travel, the constant moving and shuffling of our bodies and backpacks, our dotted lines across the map, the simplicity of owning less to see more-these small acts are weaving our family's tapestry." ( )