5 Travel Memoirs With Heart

At the end of a trip, one of my favorite things to do is read a travel memoir or novel set in the city that I just left.  With the scenery fresh in your mind, the authors words spring to life and you connect deeply with the characters and their environment. Here are five memoirs revolving around soul searching, self discovery, love, and other matters of the heart.

1. That Summer in Sicily: A Love Story (Marlena di Blasi)

It was my first time in Rome and I only had 18 hours to see everything I could.  Since Rome is the Italian city that never sleeps, I pushed my adventure into the wee hours of the morning. Somewhere around midnight, I strolled past a bookstore that was still open. And, in the midst of the English language titles, I discovered Marlena di Blasi’s first book, 1000 Days in Venice. Because I’d spent a few days in Venice earlier in the trip, the title caught my eye.  As I settled in for the long transatlantic flight home later that morning, I opened its pages and realized that Marlena di Blasi would become one of my new favorite authors.

When di Blasi, an international food critic from America, married a Venetian man and moved to Italy, she found a new calling writing travel memoirs.   Though there have been several follow-ups to her first book, That Summer in Sicily, a recollection of her extended vacation in southern Italy, is my favorite.  On this trip through Sicily, Marlena and her husband discover an old palace and an oddly private community of people who live there.  After meeting the woman who owns the property, they are invited to stay for a few days.  As the days pass, the owner’s protective walls begin to fall and a beautiful story unfolds.  Di Blasi has a wonderful way of weaving strong characters, deep cultural examination, visual imagery and food descriptions (delectable enough to make you want to lick the page) into a wonderful narrative. Throughout the book, you’ll find yourself asking, “Is this really a true story?”

2. Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love & Spain  (Lori L. Tharps)

Because her family encouraged cultural exchange, Lori received an early introduction to travel. During high school, she spent her first summer abroad in Morocco. The language barrier and culture shock did not deter her from her mission to see the world. By the time Lori finished college, she’d spent a year abroad and was smitten – by the Spanish language, the promise of an exotic culture, and a handsome local student.   At the prospect of making a longer-term commitment to Spain (and her beau), she struggled to establish a real sense of home there. On the verge of giving up and accepting her place on the periphery of Spanish culture, she discovered something very interesting about Spain’s history that she as an African-American could personally and deeply connect to. As someone who always regretted not doing a semester abroad in Spain, I could see myself in her story.

3. Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur’s Odyssey to Educate the World’s Children (John Wood)

John Wood was an Microsoft exec with a successful career and solid relationship. Looking for a break from the stress, he took a trekking vacation through Nepal and discovered the meaning of life.  Towards the end of his trip, he visited a local school and discovered that their library was nearly empty.  He returned home with thoughts of a book drive to help the Nepalese students he’d met.  When he returned with the books, he changed their lives and his own.  Shortly thereafter, he walked away from his job, lost his girlfriend and made a series of difficult personal sacrifices to build what later would become Room to Read, a non-profit organization that has provided millions of books and thousands of scholarship to students in remote and impoverished regions of the world.  I was inspired not only by Wood’s descriptions of the Himalayas, the interesting people he encounter and his decision to leave the corporate, but also the entrepreneurial spirit and leaps of faith it took to make his dream happen.

4. Somebody’s Heart Is Burning: A Woman Wanderer in Africa  (Tanya Shaffer)

Feeling pressured by her relationship and unclear about her future intentions, Tanya jumped at the chance to move to Africa, where she served as a volunteer in Kenya, Mali and Ghana. As a late-20′s middle class American white woman living in an impoverished, predominately brown world, Tanya often pondered issues of race and cultural exchange. With great sensitivity and a thirst for understanding, she described her surroundings, the colorful characters she encountered and some of the misadventures of cross-cultural and cross-gender communication. Local village life, her new-found friends, love in pre-AIDS Africa, and even mundane things like bus rides, boat journeys, nature hikes, haircuts made for a delightful read.  If you’ve ever considered just going somewhere completely out of your element, or you just want to experience it through someone else’s eyes, this is a great book to start with.

5. Eat, Pray Love:  One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia  (Elizabeth Gilbert)

When Elizabeth Gilbert reached 30, an early mid-life crisis struck with a vengeance. The life she’d been living no longer seemed to make sense, and a painful divorce, co-dependent rebound relationship, and journey to self discovery quickly followed.  Somewhere in the midst of it all, she pitched a book idea to her publisher which involved a year-long adventure through Italy, India and Indonesia.  Very different than the broken, lost woman she once was, the grounded, clear-focused Elizabeth that emerged was a testament to the emotional process she endured. Even if you personally would not have followed the same spiritual path, if you’ve ever fantasized about ending the rat race and finding your true self, you will learn something from Elizabeth’s story.