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If you’re looking for my travel memoir, Going Solo – you’re in the right place

AVAILABLE NOW Paperback AU$16.00

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  • extracts from the Going Solo

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Update

Happy to report that Going Solo continues to receive positive feedback and reviews from readers who purchased through this website or directly from me by word-of-mouth. Paperbacks are also available through selected Sydney bookstores. All formats including the E-book are available from most online bookstores.

Reviews

  • …provides both the inspiration and practical advice to simply take the leap and go

    P Carmody

  • …engrossing and compelling while offering intriguing, thought-provoking insights…

    G Phillips

  • Most poignant was the author’s quest to understand herself, her origins and her place in the world…

    J Scott

  • …an excellent travel companion, especially for those new to solo travel, that led me to reflect on the web of contradictions that lie at the heart of any cultural engagement…

    G Jones

  • I found a soulmate in the author. Travelling for me is also a way to find my own meaning, belonging and identity. I felt myself walking beside her on the streets of London, Chicago and other cities.

    K Ignasheva

  • What resonated most with me was the beautiful way the author describes the people she met along the way. Going Solo entices you to look beyond the traditional construct of travel and find meaning and connection.

    N Sapa

  • This is an informative and witty read. Eva’s tales really do make you want to travel, inspiring confidence in any solo traveller to get booking!

    C Grimes

  • The memoir takes the reader on a captivating journey filled with self-discovery, adventure and personal growth. Throughout the book, she encounters both the positive and challenging as she navigates unfamiliar territories, immerses herself in different cultures, and learns to rely on her own instincts.

    W Nguyen

  • I’ve just finished reading Going Solo again and am very impressed. Well done. The author has a very engaging style to connect with her readers.

    P Schwarz

  • The memoir gives great insight into the joys of travelling, especially interacting with the locals as a way to learn about culture. My favourite section was Morocco and all the adventures the author had there. Her vivid descriptions of Marrakech and its maze of souks made me want to travel there. It was also interesting reading her thoughts on China, plus the ‘Reflections’ at the end, and the section about the German language.

    D Richardson

  • I felt as though I was there with her on her journey. Yes, it may be a little long, but her familiar narrative style made me feel as though she was talking directly to me. As a single female traveller, it is a joy to know that I am not alone in my wanderings.

    S Lenton

  • Visual descriptors are peppered with personal stories, experiences and philosophies that invite the reader’s introspection. Each place visited entices the reader to be part of the experience in their own way by engaging with the places and the people on a more personal level, not just following the tourist map or guidebook, but seeking out and engaging in the less familiar.

    K Delaney

Sharing insights with strangers – a fellow passenger on a flight to Bangkok – can have lasting value beyond words.

“The day my Chinese mother-in-law moved in with us was the beginning of the end. She ruled the house. I became an outsider in my own home,’ says James. ‘Eventually, I left.’

The depth of our conversation is utterly inconsistent with our status as strangers. However, finding a human connection and exchanging existential insights can be valuable and enduring, no matter how incidental and brief that experience is while exploring the world, each other, and ourselves. These are the gems of solo travel. Such harmony with another on issues close to the soul is like a melody that reassures us that we’re not alone in this world and can find true commonality far from familiar surroundings. James giving voice to how cultural issues eroded his relationship helped me to better understand the failure of mine – I’d walked out too. As my understanding grew, the grip the memory had on my heart released, and I began the process of forgiving myself – an epiphany inspired by a stranger who I’ll probably never meet again – a gift. Perhaps this is the reason some of us travel the world. We seek not merely to discover the new and different in the external world – but to uncover our essential selves as reflected in the differences and, better still, the similarities we share with people we meet. The announcement that we’re about to land shakes me out of my reverie. We disembark and say farewell.”

 

Extract: Chapter One. For solo travellers, it is especially true that the journey and the people we meet are as important as the destinations.

While the memoir takes the reader on an evocative armchair ride around the globe to experience solo travel, it also discusses the whys, and the hows of the transformational potential of taking journeys because they encourage the exploration not only of the external, but also of our internal world inviting us to re-evaluate entrenched beliefs and values. The book ends with series of Meditations on aspects of life that are expanded and developed by the travel experience. I’m in awe of the contrast I find between cultures and also comforted by the similarities we humans share. Travelling, in that regard, is truly a humanitarian act. While exploring other nations, travellers can’t help but become more aware of how resources, wealth and power are shared (or not) around the globe, and they often observe first-hand places where freedom and human rights demand to be defended.

I’ve met many on the road, especially women in their later years, looking to redefine who they are after the demands of some roles they’ve played have loosened their grip. They’re all enthusiastically discovering the possibilities of their new independence. In sharing their experiences, each can contribute to the understanding and compassion needed for a kinder world.

To share my experiences, I’ve also been posting a newsletter called Chasing the Intangible.

It’s focused on travel and life as a writer in which I share my travel photography. Why not sign up? It’s free!