The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Lost: A Memoir of Three Continents, Two Friends, and One Unexpected Adventure
Rachel Friedman
Bantam, Mar 29 2011, $15.00
ISBN: 9780385343374
As a child Rachel Friedman expected she would become a professional viola player some day. However, during her freshman year at college, Ms. Friedman realized that playing as a pro was not what she wanted in her life. Thus after years of aspiration she needed a new dream. The author goes to Ireland for the summer in hopes of finding what she wants. She meets many people in hostels and bars where the alcohol flowed too freely while she also worked at restaurants. From Ireland encouraged in Galway by Aussie Carly, Ms. Friedman journeys to Australia for a year and from there on a perilous South American tour where she meets New Zealand traveler Martyn.
Put aside the overkill title and the excessive summarizing cute table of contents, Rachel Friedman’s memoir is an intriguing coming of age quest to find ones’ self. The Irish passage of rite is youth at its first freedom while the Australian sojourn is the maturing of the author. However, it is the final continent in which Ms. Friedman risks her life that is the most fascinating segue. Throughout there is a strong sense of family as Ms. Friedman muses how they would react to what she is doing; and the problems faced by an young American expatriate abroad especially employment. Readers will enjoy travels with Rachel who brings to life her getting lost and found on three continents.
Harriet Klausner
No comments:
Post a Comment