Have Mother, Will Travel: A Mother and Daughter Discover Themselves, Each Other, and the World

by Claire Fontaine, Mia Fontaine

A mother, a daughter, and a life-changing adventure around the world . . .

Their bestselling memoir, Come Back, moved and inspired readers with the story of Mia Fontaine's harrowing drug addiction and her mother, Claire's, desperate and ultimately successful attempts to save her. Now it's a decade later and Claire and Mia each face a defining moment in her life, and a mother-daughter relationship that has frayed around the edges. At fifty-one, Claire's shed her identity as Mia's savior but realizes that, oops, she forgot to plan for life after motherhood; Mia, twenty-five and eager to step outside her role as recovery's poster child, finds adult life isn't all it's cracked up to be. Determined to transform themselves and their relationship once again, the pair sets off on a five-month around-the-world adventure.

What awaits them is an extraordinary, often hilarious journey through twenty cities and twelve countries—one that includes mishaps, mayhem, and unexpected joys, from a passport-eating elephant to a calamitous camel ride around the Pyramids—and finally making peace with their tumultuous past in the lavender fields of France, where they live for the last four months of the trip. Seeing how self-possessed and community-minded twentysomethings are in other countries broadens Mia's perspective, helping her grow, and grow up. Claire uses the trip to examine her broken relationship with her own mother, a Holocaust survivor, and to create a vision for her second act. Watching her mom assess half a century of life, Mia comes to know her as Claire has always known Mia—as all mothers know their daughters—better than anyone else, and often better than themselves.

Wiser for what they've learned from women in other cultures, and from each other, they return with a deepened sense of who they are and where they want to go—and with each embracing the mature friendship they've discovered and the profound love they share.

Alternating between Claire and Mia's compelling and distinct voices, Have Mother, Will Travel is a testament to the power and beauty of the mother-daughter relationship, one that illuminates possibilities for our own lives.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Memoir, Audiobook, Book Club, Parenting, Biography

309 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Reviews

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise of this book sounded great. A mother and daughter embark upon a travel adventure to raise money for charity. They visit several countries, beginning with China, and in each country they have several tasks to complete in order to compete for points with their fellow travelers. In this way, they can experience the country and the culture more fully. I was ready to come along for the ride.

I appreciated the dual narrative used in the book. First, the mother would speak and tell about one part of their journey, and then Mia would pick up where Claire left off. It started off fine, with some interesting humorous anecdotes about China. Then, the two proceeded to tell about their history. Apparently, Mia suffered sexual abuse as a child and became a mother’s worst nightmare during her teen years. Claire had her shipped off to an Eastern European boot camp to straighten out and Mia’s life and their mother-daughter relationship, was eventually repaired. They even wrote a book about it.

Unfortunately, they thought this book should be a continuation of that book. And an introspective book about mother-daughter relationships and vision maps was not what I had in mind when this memoir showed up on our book club “to-read” list. I kept wanting to yell at them: “tell more more about your adventure!” As the book went on, it became more and more about them, and not so much about their travels. It was very disappointing.

[camilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I haven't read the first book this mother-daughter team co-wrote but I love traveling and I love my mom so I thought I'd love this. But I didn't. I loved the beginning when the duo is racing around the world in the Great Scavenger Hunt but then things stall a bit once they get to France. Maybe this is a better read for mothers but there was just soooo much reflection about the nature of a mother-daughter relationship. It just got a bit too mushy for me. I had to struggle a bit to finish this which never happens with travel books. Well written and there are some entertaining parts but if you already have a strong relationship with your mother it's not the super illuminating read that the whole journey was for the authors.

[sncottle · Rating 1 out of 5]

i couldn't finish this book - or couldn't be bothered to finish, i guess. the 100ish pages that i read didn't provide nearly enough information or narration about the travels and scavenges that the mother/daughter pair were on, which potentially could've been really entertaining. nor did it really provide much insight into the authors and their relationship, as advertised. it was just kinda blah. and i have too many books on my "to-read" shelf to bother with blah.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been talking about little else other than this book. It touched me. I laughed, I cried and I loved it. Come to find out, my older sister and my Mom, who I wanted to send copies, have not only already read it, but they - like me, took quotes from the book and wrote them down.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little too much mother/daughter relationship analysis for me. I much preferred the travelogue parts of the book.

[Meg - A Bookish Affair · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Have Mother, Will Travel" is a memoir by (perhaps unsurprisingly) a mother/ daughter duo. When they get a chance to go on a month long Amazing Race- esque trip that will take them to many different countries for a litany of experiences, they dive right in. They think that the trip may help to bring them closer together (and it does). This is the second book by the pair. The first book was called "Come Back," which explored the relationship between Claire and Mia as Mia is sent away to sort of a reform school in Europe after being sexual abused and dealing with drugs. I have not read this book and I don't think that you need to in order to enjoy "Have Mother, Will Travel." Although, I do want to read that book now to learn more about Claire and Mia's background. This book takes place about 10 years after "Come Back" and while time has passed, there still seems to be some healing that needed to happen between Claire and Mia

I am a big believer in the idea that you don't really know someone until you try to travel with them. You have a front row seat to learning their style, likes, dislikes, idiosycracies, and all sorts of other things that you may not get to see normally. Now obviously since Claire and Mia are mother and daughter, they already know a lot about each other. I really liked reading about how Claire and Mia deal with each other and their new surroundings. Family connections are always something that has interested me. There are a lot of really interesting and beautiful ruminations on this book on the mother and daughter relationship.

And of course, I loved reading about all of the fabulous places that Claire and Mia visit. I would so love to go on this kind of a vacation (although it is doubtful that I would ever be able to find a month to drop everything and travel the world; a girl can dream though). Claire and Mia get to experience some really amazing things together, which makes their journey just that much more special.

I think this book would be a perfect pick for Mother's Day for anyone that enjoys memoirs and traveling!

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

The descriptions were great and the travel inspiring (especially the bit in Bulgaria), but the intricacies of the mother-daughter relationship that came to light throughout the book was the best part, leading me to think on the nuances of my relationship with my mother and the woman I want to be so that I can be the mother I wish to be for my daughters. It also started a lot of new thoughts in my head on my definition of success, my vision of the future, and my ability to stay grounded in the present. Another great read to feed and inspire the self-reflection I've been experiencing lately.

[Amber · Rating 1 out of 5]

I quit barely 30 minutes into this book, and long before mother and daughter's travels actually started. Somewhere between mother bragging about vision mapping her life before vision mapping was a thing, and daughter blathering on about looking for artisanal cheese at the farmer's market, I realized I couldn't take another second of these people, let alone 13 more hours. White privilege in a box. It didn't help that the writing was pedestrian at best.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up months ago at a bargain bookstore for a dollar because I had read Come Back a couple of years ago and thought it was an interesting book, and I figured this second tome would give a little more insight to what Mia and Claire's relationship was like with more years between their koolaid drinking of the European "boarding school" for troubled teens. I did read a lot about their relationship, and the book made a few semi interesting observations about mother-daughter and adult child- parent relationships and boundaries/ reading from two perspectives was fine for awhile, but eventually the book bored me and the voices, especially of the mother, but aldo with the ever-hip daughter began to grate on my nerves. The travel part if the memoir was alright, but ultimately this book was a slog and it took me months to finish (this had been my "emergency car book" that I kept in my car for reading since summer- I almost never wanted to pick it up, and wound up reading on the kindle app on my phone instead, which totally defeated the whole car book system I have had my entire life, so I brought it in at Xmas and have been slowly forcing myself to finish it). 1.5 stars, rounded up to 2 because I think I may be being a bit harsh.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book by this mother/daughter duo, and I did enjoy it, although not as much as the first book. This one I listened to on audiobook and found that not only are they gifted writers, but speakers as well.

I enjoyed both the travelogue and the insight into the mother/daughter relationship. Their stories and text are descriptive, colorful, and their vocabulary is varied and evocative. There were many points where I found myself nodding in agreement.

There were a few places in the latter third of the book where I felt editing would have been beneficial and none of the point nor the feeling would have been lost. Overall, the book was with my time.

[Suzanne Stauffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a long audio book. It took a long time to learn about this mother - daughter relationship. It was not what I expected. I thought it would be more about their relationship and dynamics. It took most of the book to get there and it really was not that interesting or out of the ordinary. I would not recommend this book to others.

[Dawn Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Their first book was so much better than this one; so much whining and if I had EVER talked to my mom the way Mia often talks to hers [and then talks about how much she loves her...ummm, okay>], I wouldn't be here writing this review [okay, that isn't true, but I'd probably still be grounded in my 50's! LOL]!!

Parts of this WERE delightful and those are the parts that I clung to when the rest of the book would go off the rails and I will admit to being bored through a lot of it. After reading their amazing first book years ago and looking forward to this book for a long time, I was pretty disappointed in much of this.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have Mother, Will Travel by Mia and Claire Fontaine was this month's selection for my online book club. Without that, I'm not sure I would have found my way to this one. The interesting thing is while travel is in the title, that was my least favorite part of the book. I could honestly have not cared less about where Mia and Claire went. What I did really love was the exploration and evolution of their relationship. Mia is a recovering addict, and there were many, many years her relationship with her mother was strained. (Note: This duo has written another book, and it's about that aspect of their relationship.) They decide some international travel together will be another way to build their mother-daughter connection. Again, the travel wasn't for me, but there was a lot of really great realizations about life in this one. This line especially made me feel some feels, "Why do so many of us choose to be good girls going for gold stars, instead of clasping tight the gold of our lives by living as we truly desire?" Right?! RIGHT?!?! Anyway, the growth of the two women is what I enjoyed about this book which is what the second half really focuses on, so it took me awhile to get into this one. Once I did, I love the authenticity and truth of it all.

[Rheetha Lawlor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for humorous vignettes of the two women's travels across the world. And there were some of those, but I felt towards the end there was far too much introspection over little things, almost to the point of being preachy. I would like to read their previous story about when Mia, the wayward daughter, eventually came home after years of her mother trying to help. So ,aye this book was more of a therapy for themselves rather than what I was expecting. Oh, those pesky expectations...

[June Ding · Rating 2 out of 5]

A topic I’m interested: mother and daughter travel together and their travel stories. It was Interesting at the beginning but then soon gets a bit tired and I lost interest and could not finish the book.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book came to me at the perfect time in my life. At first I simply picked it up because it was recommended when searching for a different book and the title caught my attention because my mother and I have been planning a cross country van trip for years. It sounded like it would get me stoked for that possibility. This book did that but more importantly it inspired me in a difficult time, and as I am the same age now as Mia was when she went on this adventure, it was like she was speaking to the heart of my issues and uncertainties. I am so inspired by them and am striving to work towards a future that is not only better for me but also fits into my picture of a happy fulfilled life. I will be doing the life vision board so that I can fully understand the steps to get there. I truly appreciate the writing and am going to make my mother read it, not only because I feel that it will bring us closer but also because she is having a hard time coping with the lose of her mother and I feel that Claire's expression of her relationship with her mother will help my mother grow and hopefully recover from the recent loss of both of her parents. Thank you both, Mia and Claire for your words, I hope to be as inspiring and adventurous in my future.

[Mary Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Follow up to "Come Back." An American mother-daughter duo heads on an international scavenger hunt trip and subsequent summer in France. The time and the experience help them re-frame their relationship with each other after writing their first book together.

After writing "Come Back," in which they duo detail the daughter's spin out of control and placement in a therapeutic boarding school, the pair made a living talking about the book and their pasts. Taking the scavenger trip allows them to piece together what their relationship looks like in the present. Both are contending with major life changes. The mom has moved across country from CA to FL. The daughter is finding her way as a young professional. Neither seems to be thriving in her current situation, so they drop everything to take the trip.

Lots of statements about coming of age and mother-daughter relationships. Buy it for your mother or daughter for Mother's Day. It was good.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few lines I enjoyed:

"Your mother is in your bones."
"So much of us is unknown, and unknowable, to our daughters. We carry a whole lifetime of before within us. How do you express that to them?"
"Isn't that what all women want, Claire? To be brave in their own lives?"
"There are some advantages of stumbling around for awhile. I allows for discovery."
"And while it may be true that you don't always know what you've got till it's gone, it's also true that you don't often know if what you've got really matters till you realize you don't miss it."
"All relationships happen in stages, with varying depths, multiple layers. You invariably reach a point where you hit the ceiling of a certain level of intimacy and then have the option of staying there - which risks the relationship becoming predictable or stale - or you can take it to the next level. We did that this summer."

[Kitty · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book….and perhaps my high expectations is why I didn’t. I found it hard to follow, one author writing in italics (who wants to read italics for half a book??) and the other not. It was stream of consciousness the entire book, and much less about the experiences of traveling which is what I had hoped for. It made you never want to visit the places they discussed (even though I’ve been to many of them and loved my travels). The bickering that occurred between the mother/daughter made me lose all since of credibility for them as authors, feeling that they were petty and selfish. Although I know if I traveled alone with my mother we may disagree, I know we would never treat each other the way these two did, even on their first day of their travels.

[steph (librarianish) · Rating 3 out of 5]

#176. I'm a bit of a sucker for travel memoirs, and this looked like an interesting take. Mom and adult daughter take off on a trip around the world, Amazing Race-style (for points but no monetary award). As I was nearing the end of the Fall 2018 Seasonal Reading Challenge on Goodreads (for points but no monetary award), I thought it fitting. Interesting, but would have liked more memoir about the travel and less about their history with each other. I don't know whether it's that I didn't find their observations about themselves and each other particularly insightful, or whether I just went in hoping to travel vicariously. But if you like travel memoirs, give it a shot.

[phyllis allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memorable, unusual, laugh-out loud funny!

Since I am a mother who has twice traveled in Europe with my adult daughter l was drawn to this memoir. Reading it was like being there with them and hearing their individual thoughts as well as their conversations as they discuss their relationship and their feelings of frustration, joy and wonder. In addition to Europe they travel to far off places, such as Nepal, most of us will never see in person. I found the entire book completely captivating!
The last chapters take place in Avignon, a place l would love to visit but at this point in my life never will. I am so thankful I got to see it through Claire and Mia’s eyes!

[Nickie Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really really liked this book. I listened on audio and the fact that both women read their part was helpful, and more inflective of their individual voice. The traveling stories were interesting, but ultimately, this wasn't a travel book so much as a book about the changing relationship between mother and daughter. There was a lot of insight from both of them in different situations and looking back at the past, and, being the same age as the mom with a daughter the same age as the daughter made it especially poignant for me.

I've now bought 2 hard copies: one for my 25yo and one for my mother. I hope they love it like I did!

[Claire Saylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mother and daughter Claire and Mia start on a scavenger hunt around the world (that really exists!?) before spending a summer in France together to reconnect. It dips from travel essays to personal contemplations of mothers and daughters as they slowly come to respect and trust each other as the strong women they've become. Their dialogues peel away misperceptions each has of the other and dig into old family wounds, and monologues reflect on finding your place in this world and accepting the journey. The plot flows chronologically and along the strengthening relationship of mom and daughter.
As a major multi-tasker I like the combination of self-development style reflections on life mixed with travel memoir - it's like a 2 for 1. 10hr 29 minute audiobook. T.

[Brandi Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was completely different than I expected. It was more of a conversation between them but I really enjoyed it. I loved Claire’s mom chats as I dubbed them. There were times I cried and times I’d be laughing so hard at the gym I’m sure people thought I was nuts. But she really made me think about things and the way I handle situations with my own girls. I’ve travelled a lot with just my girls so I could relate to so much of the banter between them. I want to read Comeback now. Definitely a light read compared to my typical books.

[Xin Ru Toh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first part was a more fast-paced narrative focusing on the mother and daughter pair going on the Global Scavenger Hunt, while the second part was a more slow-paced narrative focusing on the pair living together in France. The reflections on their respective identities and relationship were profound and relatable. However, I do wish more anecdotes were given from their travels, as expected of travel memoirs.

[Cheryl Schibley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like these women. Mother and daughter have a difficult time when Mia, the daughter, is in her teens. Separate book, Come Home. Now she is in her mid-twenties and they sign up for a 13 country scavenger hunt and then live in France for a month. Very thoughtful, insightful and fun to read.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book ! The ladies do come off as a bit entitled / elitist at times, but I was really pleasantly surprised at some of the thoughtful insights they shared along the way. I listened to the audio book version and could absolutely hear myself and my own mother in their different attitudes towards the same event. Great read!

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This starts off as a fairly simple "feel good" book about mother and daughter traveling together, but quickly begins to examine their troubled past and efforts to rebond. It's not terribly in-depth but does offer some insights into how they managed to reconnect. And in the meantime, it talks about some of the wonderful places they visited over the course of their long travel adventure.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and may even re-read it in the future as there were several things I related to as both a mother and a daughter. BUT, I think the title is misleading and led to initial disappointment.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the book, well written and it wasn't necessary to have read their first book. I don't have a daughter but am a daughter so got me thinking about my relationship with my mother. Actually good to ponder relationship with both parents, as well as with my son.