A Memoir of Three Continents, Two Friends, and One Unexpected Adventure
March 14, 2011
Since childhood, Friedman knew she was going to be a professional viola player, but in her freshman year of music school, she realized that professional musicianhood was not for her. Afraid of an uncertain future and its endless possibilities, the 20-year-old fled to Ireland for four months. She discovers there's more to life than having the perfect planâand that the American outlook on work, travel, and life is more limited (and limiting) than she'd realized. Thus primed, when her Australian friend (and Galway roommate) Carly invites Friedman to visit after graduation, the author accepts, and embarks on a yearlong adventure through Australia and South America. She takes risks (the Death Road passage is particularly harrowing), becomes enchanted with Buenos Aires, and falls for New Zealander (and eventual husband) Martyn. Friedman deftly moves from musings on family to specifics about working abroad to first-rate travelogue about the places she visited, striking just the right balance between personal and universal.
March 1, 2011
In this memoir, Friedman (literature, John Jay Coll. of Criminal Justice) abandons her musical career and college plans for a summer on her own in Ireland in the hopes of finding a new direction for her adult life. Her time abroad, it turns out, is depressing despite new friends (via hostels, bar and restaurant jobs, and an abundance of alcohol), one of whom provides the impetus for Friedman's further travels. The sunny, relaxed atmosphere in Australia gives Friedman the courage to expand her horizons still further, this time to South America, where she bumbles through Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, and Chile. Times are good and bad, and connecting with her Australian friend proves difficult. True love appears near the end of the South American adventure. How could it not? VERDICT The book begins with a table of contents featuring cutesy chapter synopses (also used at the beginning of each chapter); aside from this grating misstep, Friedman proves herself an able first-time author. Contrary to the misleading title, this is an enjoyable memoir of a youthful journey of self-discovery. [Library marketing.]--Janet Ross, formerly with Sparks Branch Lib., NV
Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
April 1, 2011
Friedman always considered herself a good girl, excelling in academics and living up to her parents expectations. Just before her senior year in college, however, she finds herself struggling to grasp what she truly wants to do with her life. To everyones surprise, she impulsively buys a plane ticket to Ireland with no concrete plans beyond a few nights stay in a hostel. Here she faces the anxiety of solo travel, eventually finding work at a bar and meeting a free-spirited Australian, Carly. When Friedman returns to America, she discovers that graduation brings few answers; as her friends begin corporate jobs, she remains ambivalent about her next steps. What she does know is that she still yearns to traveland so she does, embarking for Australia to live with Carlys family, then for a vivid trip through South America. During her varied journeys and experiences, both alone and with Carly, Friedman begins to embrace the adventures and uncertainties of life. Energetic and candid, Freidmans debut memoir navigates the joy and fear of travel and self-discovery.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)