NOTE: I received a free eBook copy of this book from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers (March 2022).

This is not an ordinary travel memoir. Rather, it is the story of the author's personal transformation from an provincial, evangelical Arkansas girl to a cosmopolitan woman with a reinvented perspective on her faith. Patton recounts her youth, her early career and religious upbringing, and her failed first marriage before launching into her travelogue, which took her to Turkey, Jordan, Israel, Syria, the UAE, Tanzania, Japan, and Thailand. Her story is thoroughly engrossing, as she recounts many weird-but-true stories (such as a request for a romantic relationship from a UAE Sheik's son!) that are better than fiction. I was captivated by Patton's personal development and growth, as she related how aspects of her early involvement with an evangelical "Christian" congregation was detrimental to her interpersonal relationships and sense of self. It's clear that she evolved a lot over the course of her life and abandoned much of the earlier dogma to which she subscribed, but sometimes her tone is still a little preachy. Her experiences with a Somali refugee family in Thailand should be required reading for anyone needing to know more about issues impacting immigration. Cheers to Patton for sharing the ups and downs of her life story and broadening the horizons for readers everywhere! ( )

A travelogue and memoir all in one, as a young woman moves from a strict Evangelical family out into the world and learns to see God differently. Her faith changes and grows as she experiences life in different cultures and learns about different religions. She has lots of questions and gets some answers, finds love, and her true self. ( )

The fact that I come from a very different background and religious faith than the author colors my view of the book, but I definitely found it interesting and worth a read. Patton, an elder millenial, documents her life story growing up as a Southern Baptist in Arkansas, and her spiritual crisis after her church disowned her following her divorce. Patton embarks on an international career that takes her to Jordan, Brunei, and the United Arab Emirates. Although these parts were interesting, the story really takes off when she marries her military pilot husband and they are transferred to a base in Thailand. She delves further into her spiritual epiphanies that other people are actually just as good or "saved" as Christians and she has a lot to learn from her Muslim and Buddhist friends. She centers her own Western Christian experience, understandably, but it occasionally results in statements about other cultures that are less than accurate. This was a bit frustrating but again, understandable, and she is clearly sincere and authentic in her storytelling and desire to make the world a better place. I found her attitude truly uplifting and refreshing; it was nice to see an evangelical Christian go through such a journey and come out the other side, and I'm sure other Christians will find it inspiring. For those outside the faith, it is certainly an interesting view. ( )

Starting in Arkansas and journeying around the world, it leaves the you thinking at the end about her story for a much longer time. Natalie tells not only what has happened, but how those events and situations molded her into the woman of faith that she is today. Upon finishing the book, I feel uplifted and can spot God in more places than I ever did in the uncomfortable pew of a conservative church. I loved this book so much. ( )

Natalie Toon Patton has written a book of journeys. She writes of both literal journeys and faith journeys. After a dysfunctional childhood, a disastrous, short-lived first marriage, and a brief career working for Fox News, Patton took a job with a company that worked with Middle Eastern and Asian countries. While living briefly in a variety of countries over the course of a few years, she also had a long-distance relationship with an American serviceman. They eventually married and settled in Thailand.
All of her varied cultural and relational experiences made for a fascinating life. They also left her in spiritual turmoil for a good bit of the time. What we have here is a combination of two books in one--the story of her literal journey and the story of her spiritual journey. The literal journey presents a fascinating story that makes for good reading. The spiritual journey, not so much. Her final conclusion about her faith seemed to me to be that Jesus is everywhere in all people, no matter what religion they follow. Furthermore, everyone is born with His light in them and is pre-destined to do good. She quotes numerous theologians and Bible verses to back up her beliefs.
Readers who share her set of beliefs will likely find the book quite enjoyable. Those who approach the booking expecting to read a travel memoir, may not experience quite so much enthusiasm. And those who hold to evangelical Christian beliefs are not likely to find the spiritual aspects of the book all that engaging. All in all, it's a good read that is probably not quite everyone's cup of tea. ( )