What does it take to see the world? Money? A good travel agent? Extended vacation time? Or just maybe all it takes is $700, a bicycle, and an indomitable spirit.
Destination Unknown is a travel memoir exploring the coming of age of a young woman. Set in Europe and the Middle East in the 1980’s, this tale chronicles the adventures of Susan, a 19-year-old woman who sets out to see the world, and in the process discovers herself.
Battling poverty, the unique hardships of being a woman alone, constant rain, incessant headwinds, sore muscles, and loneliness, Susan is compelled by an inner drive to experience life to the fullest. She is confronted by the best and the worst human beings have to offer, from being imprisoned in a church and turned out on the streets by nuns, to strangers who welcome her into their homes and hearts.
Susan’s unflagging tenacity and will to survive are constant themes in this book. She embraces life and the world, making connections with others and learning self-reliance in the most tenuous of situations. Through a rite of passage of her own design, she becomes an adult.
This memoir will appeal to a wide audience, as it is both an adventure story and a journey of self-discovery. Anyone who has contemplated the freedom of simply packing up and hitting the road, or those who have grappled with understanding themselves and their place the world, will find inspiration in this narrative.