Book review: The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost

Do you remember the first trip you took on your own? Mine was to France. I lugged a huge wheeled suitcase, far more cumbersome than today’s streamlined wheelies. Every night before I fell asleep, I worried about the next day: whether I could speak French well enough, would miss my train, or knew how to operate the laundry machine in my flat. But it was the experience that started my addiction to traveling and taught me more about myself.

In The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost, author Rachel Friedman struggles with her orderly and structured life as a parent-pleasing college student and discovers there’s more to her future as she takes off for a summer in Ireland—right before her senior year in college. Initially expecting to return at the end of her adventure as old Rachel, to finish school and then get a job (or go to graduate school), she’s surprised to find that new Rachel is into vagabonding.

While she does return home to finish college, Rachel then takes off for Australia to visit a friend from her time in Ireland, and then travels with her through South America. Along the way, she finds that her expectations about herself change with each adventure.

The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost is a coming-of-age story that serves as a reminder that each trip we take changes us—whether it’s someone venturing out for the first time or an experienced traveler. And for those of us who can get overwhelmed with the expectations we have for ourselves, it’s a delight to follow another person’s path in setting her old expectations aside to make room for new experiences.

The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost is now available on Amazon.

Posted by | Comments (1)  | April 14, 2011
Category: Travel Writing

Comments are closed.