Book Review and Giveaway: All Over the Map by Laura Fraser

** THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED ***

Symposis: What's a wise, witty travel writer to do when she reaches forty and is still single? Wander the globe searching for romance and adventure, of course.

On a trip to Oaxaca, Mexico, to celebrate her fortieth birthday, Laura Fraser confronts the unique trajectory of her life. Divorced and childless in her thirties, she found solace in the wanderlust that had always directed her heart—and found love and comfort in the arms of a dashing Frenchman. Their Italian affair brought her back to herself—but now she wonders if her passion for travel (and for short-lived romantic rendezvous) has deprived her of what she secretly wants most from life: a husband, a family, a home.

When her Parisian lover meets her in Oaxaca and gives her news that he’s found someone new, Laura is stunned and hurt. Now, it seems, she has nothing but her own independence for company—and, at forty, a lot more wrinkles on her face and fewer years of fertility. How is Laura going to reconcile what seem to be two opposite desires: for adventure, travel, great food, and new experiences, but also a place to call home—and a loving pair of arms to greet her there?

And so, she globe hops. What else is a travel writer to do? From Argentina to Peru, Naples to Paris, she basks in the glow of new cultures and local delicacies, always on the lookout for the “one” who might become a lifelong companion. But when a terrible incident occurs while she’s on assignment in the South Pacific, Laura suddenly finds herself more aware of her vulnerability and becomes afraid of traveling. It seems as if she might lose the very thing that has given her so much pleasure in her life, not to mention the career she has built for herself as a world traveler and chronicler of far-flung places.

Finding herself again will be both more difficult and more natural than she imagined. Ultimately, Laura realizes the most important journey she must take is an internal one. And the tale of how she reaches that place will captivate every woman who has ever yearned for a different life.

Author Info: Laura has been a freelance writer since she graduated from Wesleyan University in 1982, and has never otherwise held a full-time job. She published her first piece in the Jerusalem Post while volunteering on an Israeli kibbutz, which led her to realize she could actually make a career of traveling and writing. Over the years, she has written on a wide range of topics, particularly focusing on women’s health issues, travel, personal essays, and food as a way in to the hearts of other cultures. Laura is a contributing editor at More, and teaches magazine writing at various Bay Area colleges. She has her own blog, website and even a list of all the books she's ever read at at LauraFraser.com

Review: This really is a memoir and the chapters pretty much tell the story of a major trip per chapter. It took me longer to get thru this book because I would only read 1 or 2 chapters at a time. Fraser's recollections and descriptions of foreign places are enchanting and make you want to get on the next plane! If you never got to see the world, this book will make you seriously want to again!  Though it is a sequel, Fraser gives you enough info that you don't have to read the first book. This is an enjoyable end of summer read, that echoes the wonderment of where did the summer go?

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Disclosure / Disclaimer:  I received this book from  Crown Books Read it Forward promo, as a giveaway won, free of charge. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. I was not told how to review it either.