East Toward Dawn: A Woman's Solo Journey Around the World (Adventura Travel Series)

Book Description
On the eve of her 60th birthday, Nan Watkins decided to embark on the around-the-globe trip she had always dreamed of—a trip she would take alone. Having endured both the death of her twenty-two-year-old son and the dissolution of a thirty-year marriage, the author resolved to follow a solo path east across Europe and Asia to renew connections with old friends and explore foreign lands and cultures. As her adventure-filled weeks and months unfolded, what began as a trip of discovery transformed itself into a powerful journey of the spirit.

With elegant style and thoughtful insight, Watkins considers the issues particular to a woman living and traveling alone and examines the complexities of global development and the changing role of women in non-Western cultures. This rich and beautifully rendered chronicle, which takes the author from the lonesome, rugged coast of Ireland to the bustling streets of Kathmandu to the majestic Rajasthan desert of western India, is a spirited testament to a woman's determination to overcome loss with joy and passion.