Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Starting in a dreary hotel room in Moscow in 1983, ending on a West Texas trail in 2021, and weaving back and forth to rural New England, the essays and recollections in this book span the whole globe and half a lifetime. With intimacy, depth, and intelligence, this memoir in essays poses a universal question: what do you do with the pull of restlessness? Marcia DeSanctis, New York Times bestselling travel author, award-winning essayist, journalist for Vogue and Travel + Leisure and former ABC News producer immerses us in places that are both waiting to be experienced and more than we're up for. Traveling over quicksand in Northern France, through a bout of insomnia in Cambodia, up a volcano in Rwanda, spinning through the eye of a snowstorm in Bismarck, and atop a dumpster in her own backyard, the author encounters spies, angels, leopards, shoes, the odd rattlesnake, a random head of state, and, many times over, the ghosts of her own past along the way. And each next voyage leads to powerful revelations about one woman's search for solitude, capacity for adventure, and longing for home.
Synopsis
Starting in a dreary Moscow hotel room in 1983, weaving back and forth to rural New England, and ending on a West Texas trail in 2021, Marcia DeSanctis tells stories that span the globe and half a lifetime. With intimacy and depth, over quicksand in France, insomnia in Cambodia, up a volcano in Rwanda, spinning through the eye of a snowstorm in Bismarck, and atop a dumpster in her own backyard, this New York Times bestselling author, award-winning essayist and journalist for Vogue and Travel + Leisure immerses us in places waiting to be discovered and some that may be more than we're up for. She encounters spies, angels, leopards, shoes, the odd rattlesnake, a random head of state, and many times over, the ghosts of her past. Each subsequent voyage leads to revelations about her search for solitude, a capacity for adventure, and always, a longing for home.
Synopsis
Restless to leave, eager to return: this memoir in essays captures the unrelenting pull between traveling and staying home.
Starting in a dreary Moscow hotel room in 1983, weaving back and forth to rural New England, and
ending on a West Texas train in 2020, Marcia DeSanctis tells stories
that span the globe and half a lifetime. With intimacy and depth, over
quicksand in France, insomnia in Cambodia, up a volcano in Rwanda,
spinning through the eye of a snowstorm in Bismarck, and atop a dumpster
in her own backyard, this New York Times bestselling author, award-winning essayist and journalist for Vogue and Travel + Leisure immerses
us in places waiting to be discovered and some that may be more than
we're up for. She encounters spies, angels, leopards, shoes, the odd
rattlesnake, a random head of state, and many times over, the ghosts of
her past. Each subsequent voyage leads to revelations about her search
for solitude, a capacity for adventure, and always, a longing for home.
Synopsis
Vogue's Best Books of 2022
Restless to leave, eager to return: this memoir in essays captures the unrelenting pull between the past and the present, between traveling the world and staying home.
Starting in a dreary Moscow hotel room in 1983, weaving back and forth to rural New England, and
ending on a West Texas trail in 2020, Marcia DeSanctis tells stories
that span the globe and half a lifetime. With intimacy and depth, over
quicksand in France, insomnia in Cambodia, up a volcano in Rwanda,
spinning through the eye of a snowstorm in Bismarck, and atop a dumpster
in her own backyard, this New York Times bestselling author, award-winning essayist and journalist for Vogue and Travel + Leisure immerses
us in places waiting to be discovered and some that may be more than
we're up for. She encounters spies, angels, leopards, shoes, the odd
rattlesnake, a random head of state, and many times over, the ghosts of
her past. Each subsequent voyage leads to revelations about her search
for solitude, a capacity for adventure, and always, a longing for home.
Synopsis
"Intrepid and empathetic, gifted with the dispassionate gaze of a born observer...a harmonious collage of worldview and character, a wunderkammer of experiences in a life fully lived." --Melissa Febos, The New York Times
"DeSanctis encounters spies and love interests, but it's her
lushly polished writing that makes this book a joy to read." --The Washington
Post
Vogue's Best Books of 2022
The Washington Post's Best Travel Books of 2022
Restless to leave, eager to return: this memoir in essays captures the unrelenting pull between the past and the present, between traveling the world and staying home.
Starting in a dreary Moscow hotel room in 1983, weaving back and forth to rural New England, and
ending on a West Texas trail in 2020, Marcia DeSanctis tells stories
that span the globe and half a lifetime. With intimacy and depth, over
quicksand in France, insomnia in Cambodia, up a volcano in Rwanda,
spinning through the eye of a snowstorm in Bismarck, and atop a dumpster
in her own backyard, this New York Times bestselling author, award-winning essayist and journalist for Vogue and Travel + Leisure immerses
us in places waiting to be experienced and some that may be more than
we're up for. She encounters spies, angels, leopards, shoes, the odd
rattlesnake, a random head of state, and many times over, the ghosts of
her past. Each subsequent voyage leads to revelations about her search
for solitude, a capacity for adventure, and always, a longing for home.
Synopsis
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In these essays, Marcia simultaneously navigates
the globe while carving out a second career as a travel writer for major
magazines, while navigating her own past and the bumpy and sometimes complicated
road of midlife.
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Marcia's voice has quiet power, restraint and unadulterated
honesty. She is unafraid to reveal her vulnerabilities, hurts and failures. Her
narrative style has won her many accolades, including five Lowell Thomas Awards
for excellence in travel journalism, and the 2021 Solas Award for Travel Story
of the year.
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Above all, her stories are about restlessless,
the human desire to keep moving. As such, her stories have joyful exuberance
and a sense of wonder, and pack a strong emotional punch.
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The essays appeal to anyone who craves a strong
storytelling voice, especially from a writer with an astonishing lifetime of
stories - working for Barbara Walters at ABC News, and traveling the world as
an international journalist.
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These rich essays dig deep into human vulnerability,
and concern the intersection of time and place, home and the road, the past and
the present, and will ignite the readers' imagination.
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Marcia is an experienced working journalist, and
is deeply cognizant of cultural sensitivities. With a master's degree in foreign
policy from Tufts' Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, she also comes to her
work with high intellectual awareness. Though her writing is full of wonder, her work as a traveler is not about what she discovers,
especially in developing countries, but rather, what the place helps her
discover about herself.
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Many of these essays have been published in
leading outlets: Vogue, Travel + Leisure, BBC, Town & Country, LitHub, The
Millions, Creative Nonfiction, The New York Times, Air Mail, to name but a few,
and Marcia retains excellent relationships with her editors in these
publications.
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Marcia's prior book, 100 PLACES IN FRANCE EVERY
WOMAN SHOULD GO, debuted as a New York Times Travel Bestseller.
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All of these essays, some in a memoir format
about people she met long ago in her travels as a foreign correspondent, were
written between the ages of 50 and 60. Women, especially women of a certain age,
are hungry for inspiring, literary stories told by someone relatable, whom they
trust. Women are 13 percent more likely than men to have read a book in the last year.
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Books of essays are ideally suited for our
attention-challenged popula