I started reading books again.
This is a easy feel good read, it suited the mood I was in; a combination of tired and lazy. It rained heavily in the morning, making it more conducive for a lie in after breakfast to read a book.
Mike McIntyre was a journalist, he gave up his job to travel across America without any spending money. He did so by depending on the kindness of strangers, hence the title of his book. He narrates his encounters with total strangers in his journey of self discovery, overcoming his fears of the unknown and unexpected, and in doing so he also uncovers life stories of his fellow Americans. It appears that those with the least are the most generous in giving Mike a lift to the next town, hot meal, a warm bed, a kind word of encouragement.
Though I know that this is a book and not a documentary, I half hoped that there would a follow-up episode about the people he met. But that would take much away from the idea of this book, which was to invite us to take our own journeys of self discovery. In this book, even those who did not take the journey were affected by it - in the final chapter Mike discovers that in the span of his journey, his girlfriend Anne had decided to embark on her own journey, without him.
Years ago, I read another book of the same name but that one wasn't about travel, it was about war reporter Kate Adie. I will find it and give that another read.
No comments:
Post a Comment