From the globe-trotting of Odysseus to the wanderings of Forrest Gump, travel has provided opportunity for personal growth, change, and development. In this fascinating and inspiring book, psychologist Jeffrey Kottler explains why adventuresome travel is good for your soul, your mental health and explores the deeper meaning of "getting away" from it all.

Isabella Bird traveled to the wildest places on earth, but at home in Britain she lay in bed, hardly able to write: 'an invalid at home and a Samson abroad'. In Japan she rode on a 'yezo savage' through foaming floods along unbeaten tracks, and was followed in the city by a crowd of a thousand, whose clogs clattered 'like a hailstorm' as they vied for a glimpse of the foreigner. She documented America before and after the Civil War and was deported from Korea with only the tweed suit she stood up in during a Japanese invasion. In China she was attacked with rocks and sticks and called a foreign dog, but she never gave up and went home. 'The prospect of the unknown has its charms.' Transformed by distant lands, she crossed raging floods, rode elephants, cows and yak, clung to her horse's neck as it clambered down cliff paths, slept on simple mats on the bare ground, unable to change out of wet clothes or get out of the searing heat. Her travels and the books she wrote about them show courage and tenacity, fueled by a restless spirit and a love of nature. She is as unique now as she was then.

"The memoirs of an eighteenth century stable boy, jockey, and trick rider, this book offers a rare first person account of the lower classes of Europe in the time period"--Provided by publisher.

Literary Nonfiction. Essays. Memoir. CLOSING THE BOOK: TRAVELS IN LIFE, LOSS, AND LITERATURE explores the intersection of literature and life in personal essays about traveling, teaching, reading, writing, living, and dying. Each essay's narrative arc is formed and informed by the act of reading literature that makes a reader feel like the book she's reading was somehow written specifically for her to read in that exact moment. Renstrom relies on science fiction as a catalyst for grief, as well as a means of pushing past grim realities to begin envisioning life reconstructed and to embrace the idea that "there's nothing wrong with rebuilding forever."

A practical guide to traveling in the best way possible, featuring 20 essays for inspiration and advice in a broad range of scenarios.

2 v. in 1.

Two years of living abroad, two years of stories, encounters, and self-discovery. These are tales from everywhere but home. After graduating college, Phil Rosen dropped everything, packed up, and moved to Hong Kong. He launched a travel blog and ventured all over Southeast Asia, meeting people, seeing places, and writing about it all the while. Travelogues of different countries alternate with chapters that raise questions of self-discovery, purpose and finding meaning as a recent college graduate. There are stories from Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Bali, and more. With each chapter, Phil seems to get closer and closer to answering the question "What are college graduates really supposed to do in life?"