Lost & Found in Egypt: A Most Unlikely Journey Through the Shifting Sands of Love and Loss

by Kyla Merwin

For anyone who has ever felt stuck in their lives, or wonders if there isn't more to who they think they are, "Lost & Found in Egypt" is a must-read. With more dumb guts than preparation, a middle-aged woman with a desk job decides to take a solo journey to the Middle East on the Get-There-and-Wing-it Plan. In a voice both raw and illuminating, Kyla Merwin explores the back roads, bustling bazaars, and shifting sands of Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula. Inspired by mystical messages of the long-lost Gnostic Christians, what starts out as a research trip turns into a dramatic journey that these so-called heretics call 'the terrors and ecstasies of direct and unremitting encounters with the self.' In the "Eat Pray Love" of the Middle East, Kyla navigates lost hotel reservations, maniacal street life, museums, monuments, and the wacky and warmhearted people she meets. These audacious travels also trigger reflections on the many tender, tempestuous and sometimes tragic love affairs that shaped her life. Her journeys take Kyla through dramatic inner and outer landscapes - sometimes frightening, often hilarious and ultimately heartwarming - that finally bring her back home, and back to her most authentic self.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 11, 2013

About the author

Writer, wanderer, wonderer.

Kyla Merwin has been a freelance writer since 1994, with regional and national credits to her name.

KMC Media Co. recently released Kyla's new novel, "The Lost Codex of the Christian Heretics," which offers a dramatic and compelling new interpretation of the life and messages of Jesus of Nazareth.

Her memoir, Lost & Found in Egypt: A Most Unlikely Journey Through the Shifting Sands of Love and Loss, is a must-read for anyone who has ever felt stuck in their lives, or wonders if there isn't more to who they think they are.

Kyla has traveled extensively through the Pacific Northwest, as well as many parts of Western Europe, Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula.

Kyla makes her home with her golden-retriever-on-the-Go, Pippin, wherever they happen to be.

Reviews

[Spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book on a Goodreads giveaway. This is the 1st memoir type book I have read and I am not sure the genre is for me. I wanted to read something outside of the books I usually read but had not idea what to expect. The things I liked was the sense of adventure, however there were parts i wanted to know more. There was also a lot of tangents and would like to know more about them but it just didn't go into detail.

Overall, I learned a lot and the desire to travel to another foreign country has be reignited, now to just convince the wife.

[Arti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read, pleasant and comforting. Kyla Merwin gives a much different picture of Egypt then what is currently seen through the lens of the media. She shares her experiences as God passes her through the gentle and kind arms of strangers that she will never be able to forget. There is kindness and compassion everywhere one just has to have faith and this book reminds us to relax and let it happen.

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received review book through Goodreads.
A memoir of her trip to Egypt in 1999, it was a pleasant easy read with a nice combination of humor, sadness/loss, and danger. Some fascinating characters appear along the way to provide help and comfort in seemingly impossible situations. Perhaps we are each the hand of God reaching out to help one another.