Is This All There Is to Life? One 44 year old woman " quit her life", or perhaps life quit her. There had to be more than waiting for retirement and living in a world where enough is never enough. She dreamed of a life that was so much more.
A true story of a life-changing, awe inspiring, "all-in" journey of globetrotting and discovery of what it means to be brave, dream big, think outside the box and create one's own definition of happiness.
Barbara's wake-up call came with divorce, the sudden death of her fiancé and her only child going off to college. Alone, devastated and yearning to explore, she calls her dad and asks to borrow his camper for a road trip. He says no, but... What happens next is an odyssey that stretches across generations and lifestyles from Alaska to the Caribbean to Italy with barely a breath in-between. Through it all, Barbara finds a way to rekindle an understanding with her quickly growing-up, distraught daughter, and a new life of her own dreams and her own gutsy making.
This story is for all those who say "some day." It will inspire you to take that leap of faith and begin living your dreams.
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Author Barbara Singer always dreamed of being a wanderer and seeker of living a true life, not just going through the motions. She had done the wife, mother and corporate executive life in the suburbs, but found it didn't feed her soul. One crazy night changed everything.
Barbara Elaine Singer is a hoot! Though her book is hardly a `first' - a book about finding yourself and your place in the world, especially if you are a woman (think Under the Tuscan Sun, Eat, Pray, Love, Thelma and Louise, and other books or plays or films about self-discovery) - this author has a sense of joy that pervades the pages of this memoir and makes it no t only fine reading but also introduces a testy and candid and entertaining writer.
Part of the pleasure of reading this book is that the author does not feel the need to write and Introduction or a Preface to explain why the pages of this book describe her arrival at and decision to make a journey of self-discovery. Instead we just jump right on board as she kisses her daughter goodbye at college, dials her dad and begins a cross country and eventual cross continent trip that keeps us breathless and completely supportive of her bravery and madness and joy.
Singer decides to stop, leave life changes of daughter to college, divorce, death of fiancé and just start "collecting experiences rather than things". Her first dream spending is a cross country drive to Alaska with her father in a small RV. `After Alaska, she lives and works for a time on a small island and then sets off by sea as first mate on a private sailboat. She and her traveling companion spend over 3 months sailing from port to port in the many small islands of the Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, and the Dominican Republic. After the sailing expedition, she travels to her beloved Italy. Living in a small village in Tuscany (and later in Florence), she studies Italian, enjoys a slow-paced life, and meets a handsome Italian winery owner.'
This is a terrific combination of looking at internet travel advice, discovering ways to cope/enjoy the unexpected, and doing what we all perseverate about - following our dreams. It is a fun book, has some fine wisdom, but most of all it is a pleasure to make friends (an that is what it feels like we do) with Barbara Elaine Singer. Bet this become a best seller!
Grady Harp
Overview
Is This All There Is to Life? One 44 year old woman " quit her life", or perhaps life quit her. There had to be more than waiting for retirement and living in a world where enough is never enough. ...