Fresh Air Fiend: Travel Writings

One is not the Loneliest Number

Paul Theroux says normal people don't become writers. It is just not healthy to sit in a room for hours staring intently into your own mind. He counter-balances this basically inward condition by paddling thousand of miles in a kayak. In Fresh Air Fiend he explains why and how this type of therapy has become an intrinsic part of his life. This pot- pourri of his experiences and reflections, is more about Paul the human being rather than Paul the observer, than any his other books. He explains why he wrote the books he has, and why he took the trips that inspired them. He never intended to be a travel writer. Like Mark Twain, another great travel writer who needed to make a living as a writer, he did it out of necessity. The fact that he has always been an outsider-just the unhealthy prospective you need to succeed in his line of work-helped him become one of our best contemporary commentators.

www.lindaballouauthor.com adventure travel writer and author of
Lost Angel Walkabout-One Traveler's Tales
Wai-nani, High Chiefess of Hawai'i-Her Epic Journey