I can almost bet that “travel to new and exciting places” is on your 2020 list of dreams.
It is one of the top goals I hear from women year after year.
With that in mind, my January interview is with Women on Fire’s own Doni Belau, best known for her bespoke tours, Girls’ Guide to Paris. And she has an idea to get you on the road toward your travel intention starting today.
Until you are ready to hop a plane or boat or train to exotic locales, Doni encourages you to become a tourist in your own hometown. I love it! And I’ve found that nature hikes are one way to discover ever-changing, uplifting possibilities year-round.
This month’s book recommendation is in that spirit. It is one of my all-time favorites. I am pleased to announce the January Book To Live By is:
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson (*paid link)
The Appalachian Trail, spanning Georgia into Maine, mostly through wilderness, is America’s ultimate hiking challenge. But even if you’re not in the position of — or perhaps not remotely interested in — making a five-month, 2,100-mile hike, A Walk in the Woods will delight and inform you.
Bryson set out in hopes of regaining fitness after years of “waddlesome sloth.” He also wanted to reacquaint himself with “the scale and beauty of my native land after nearly twenty years of living abroad.”
A number of unforgettable characters pop up along the trail, especially Stephen Katz, Bryson’s oddball and even more out-of-shape sidekick throughout much of the trek. The book is dedicated to Katz.
Bryson peppers his travelogue with discourse on history, culture, geology, flora and fauna, and so much more. But Bryson is a topnotch satirist and his insights and descriptions are often laugh-out-loud funny.
Above all, Bryson is a wise and dedicated conservationist celebrating the beauty and fragility of the wilderness. He sends a timeless and vital reminder.
You won’t soon forget this Walk in the Woods (*paid link).
Happy trails to you — in 2020 and beyond!
Love,
*As an Amazon Associate Women on Fire earns from qualifying purchases.
