Book of The Day ~ East Toward Dawn: A Woman's Solo Journey Around the World by Nan Watkins

Book of The Day ~ East Toward Dawn: A Woman's Solo Journey Around the World by Nan Watkins

Hello members of Travel / Food / Wine Book Reviews and anyone else who stumbles upon this review.

"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go"

Robert Louis Stevenson

I've lately become enamored of travel memoirs, particularly those written by women. "East Toward Dawn: A Woman's Solo Journey Around the World" by Nan Watkins jumped out at me because she went mostly to see specific people and took months to plan out all of the legs of her trip. I barely know a handful of folks who live outside the US, but Watkins has had a very busy and blessed life. It began with time in Germany as a foreign exchange student, studying with and rubbing elbows with a lot of influential people. She took the time while she was in Europe to visit other places as the opportunities arose. As an adult she and her former husband were attached to universities and gave of themselves to host their own foreign exchange students. Many of these students came from Nepal, India, and Bhutan, so her travels focused in that direction.

Like Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) and Rita Golden Gelman (Tales of a Female Nomad: Living Large in the World,) Watkins had lost her relationship with her husband. Their son had suddenly died from a previously undetected medical condition and after years of grieving in their own ways, Watkins had continued to grieve while her husband had begun moving on. This caused a rift. This trip was often cathartic for her as she thought of her son or her family.

Unlike Gelman she did not crisscross the globe without knowing whom she'd stay with, but instead had to follow an airline itinerary that went in one direction circling the planet in order to take advantage of a cost-saving ticket. I'd never known such a ticket existed before. She chose to continually travel eastward, starting in New York City and stopping off in: Germany, Austria, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Singapore and Hawaii, usually staying with friends, and families of friends before returning home.

Like Gilbert, Watkins took this year out for herself as a way of healing loss and it was fantastic to see that it gave her time out of her usual life and helped her to grow and move on.


What I Liked

Watkins seems fearless at times and often goes into wild or dangerous places with her hosts in order to truly get an understanding of the people, cultures and neighborhoods that she visited. I felt like I was seeing the splendor of Himalayas and temples right along with her.


What I Didn't Like

I realize that one of Watkins' motivations to travel was to step out and find a way to move on from her son's death, but her loss and pain were with her and permeated the story. As a mom of a son of a similar age, it made me uncomfortable knowing that it could happen to me and caused me to dwell on that sometimes instead of the fabulous trip.


Final Recommendation

"East Toward Dawn: A Woman's Solo Journey Around the World" by Nan Watkins is a richly told story of lives connected through shared experiences. I'm glad that I made the connection as well. Watkins is a great writer and wonderful storyteller and they helped me feel like I was right there with her.


If you liked this book review, you might like to read some of my other book reviews which you can find by clicking on this link.

2008 © Susan K Barton

Book Description
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Seal Press; 1 edition (March 22, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1580050646
ISBN-13: 978-1580050647
Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches