As a writer, I’ve learned to never start a positive comment with negative words.  In Global Insights – The Zen of Travel and BEING in the World, Dr. Monteiro broke the rules of being a so-called “travel writer”, so I feel no shame (a laughable concept anyway) in putting forward my thoughts on her book.

What the book isn’t!

• It’s not a happy-go-lucky, generic coming-of-age book written by someone with no life experience.

• It’s not a book that highlights the highs and avoids talking about the painful, gut-wrenching, and often soul-crushing sacrifices made in order to live the dream.

• It’s not a book to be taken lightly, or easy to put down.

• It’s not even the “part memoir; part motivational/inspirational text; part travelogue; part collection of psychological insights into creativity, motivation, and self-actualization”, it’s billed as. Because this book is far more than the sum total of its profound, yet disparate parts.

It is, however a beautifully positioned, and well executed dive into the warm ocean of travel on a global scale.