W.O.W. (!)

I'm not just very enthusiastic, W.O.W. does spell out the initials of the most recent book I read,  Wide-Open World by John Marshall.

What can I say, I was at work and this book appeared on my cart, what did you expect me to do? Not check it out? Come on, we all know I'm a sucker for travel books. 

This book is the memoir of a father of two, living in Maine, and desperate for something to change his life. Not that he has a bad life, he's got two smart and healthy kids, and a wife who is very happy to teach yoga and go on the occasional international yoga retreat. But his kids are disconnected from him (and too connected to the Internet in his daughter's case) and his marriage is certainly not what it used to be. So, to avoid the terrible prospect of a dull life, John and Traca decide to make a huge change. They quit their jobs, rent their house, pack their things, book some flights, and travel the world with their two teenage kids. The thought behind this adventure is not only to reconnect a family that is subconsciously drifting apart, but also to travel the world to unexpected places and volunteer to help others. 

Volunteering their way around the world is perfect for the Marshalls, as it enables them to travel the globe but not spend more money than absolutely necessary. 

In this manner, they travel to Costa Rica, New Zealand, Thailand, India, and Portugal (no volunteering in Portugal, just meeting up with old friends). They leave for six months, and in those six months they awoke again, they reconnected, and they faced some truths about themselves.

I was so inspired by this book. It did nothing but enflame my travel bug further then it already is. I think it's amazing that "real" people (you know, the kind of people who don't have garages on their yachts for their boats) can do something as life changing and as daring as a trip like this. 

I would absolutely recommend this book. It's funny, easy to read, difficult to put down, and there are cool pictures of their travels (it's selling point, trust me). I always find that summer is the time when I have the most inspiration, and this book fit very well into my summer mindset.