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Gap Year: How an Empty Nest Led Me to Grow Wings
After a rough divorce, the difficulty of single parenting, and a love affair that broke her heart, Catherine decided to take a year to travel. But her fantasies did not include being lost in multiple countries, having bedbugs, or awkward one-night stands. Across a landscape ranging from villas and livery stables in Spain to surf shacks and Mayan ruins in South America, Catherine exchanged work hours for room and board while navigating the ins and outs of vagabonding. A year of travel. A gap year in which the routine of normal life is suspended to sample a different kind of existence. Through the trip, the reader has a glimpse of what it might be like to abandon the working world, temporarily, to take a deep dive into sightseeing the unfathomable self. But first it’s necessary to navigate the habit patterns, the self-doubt, and the neurosis that keeps us each from getting to know who we really are at the core. This word-journey takes the reader there, against a backdrop of foreign places and colorful characters that are embraced and relinquished as Catherine navigates her inner journey.
349 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 25, 2023
6 people are currently reading
About the author
Catherine Maxwell
20 books3 followersCatherine Maxwell, MA, DPhil (Oxford) is Professor of Victorian Literature at Queen Mary University of London.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 1, 2023
In this compelling memoir of self-discovery and soul searching we travel with Cathy to different countries within Europe, Africa, South America and finally Costa Rica, where she embarks on a trepidatious yet poignant journey reflecting on identity, family and lost loves.
She has a bumpy beginning in Spain as she wanders the streets, struggling with an oversized suitcase, realizing she's not in the right town, but perseveres with a solution to her predicament, refusing to wallow in self-pity over a circumstantial setback. This attitude she evokes in facing adversity early on in the trip has me rooting for her and hoping for better days ahead. I loved how she set up work exchange to save on lodging costs, mainly with establishments that boarded horses on site as she's an accomplished equestrian and loves the animals themselves, she shows us through thoughtful planning that if you got to work for room and board, make sure it's something you'll love doing in addition to house cleaning and cooking ;)
She's careful and methodical while managing her minimal budget, taking us on shopping sprees, and sharing what's practical to spend and what's not. I also enjoyed reading about the down to earth, sometimes eccentric hosts and people she either roomed with or befriended on the streets while sightseeing through various towns.
By the end of her Spain and African trip she's attained more confidence, developed a better sense of traveling light, learning how to live without specific things, and just appreciating what she has in life versus what people abroad do not have, particularly in Africa.
When she reaches South America I could feel the shift taking place in her persona and psyche. She's reached a deeper sense of grounding, she's not as scattered in thoughts. Even the little bit of self-doubt or insecurity that surfaces she squashes with more ease and I felt relief when she spoke little of Brad, the ex-boyfriend she was still communicating with back in Europe and ultimately decides it's not doing either of them, particularly herself any good and cuts ties. It takes courage to share details of your vulnerabilities and Cathy does with explicit candor.
I admired her radical decision on embracing celibacy after some awkward and confusing hook-ups, so she could focus on cultivating inner personal changes without meaningless sexual encounters distracting her mind, body and soul with negativity. I felt inspired and empowered by this pivotal choice she made while she strengthened a deeper understanding of her self-worth and what false beliefs no longer served purpose in her life. Even when Cathy decides, after some time of dedicated celibacy, to pursue a short romantic interlude with Carlos, she's not berating herself as much with self-loathing and guilt after it ends.
The blog posts braided within the memoir were nice snippets of profound and revelatory insight correlating to that particular chapter's travel experience.
Cathy's humbleness, self-acceptance and healing she acquires after the Yoga Teacher Training in Costa Rica (last chapter of travel,) amplifies the metamorphosis of her newly found enlightenment and self-assurance.
I loved that she'd see beautiful Morpho butterflies fluttering about on separate occasions during her trips. They symbolize personal healing and spiritual transformation and that's, what I felt, she accomplished during her gap year :)
She has a bumpy beginning in Spain as she wanders the streets, struggling with an oversized suitcase, realizing she's not in the right town, but perseveres with a solution to her predicament, refusing to wallow in self-pity over a circumstantial setback. This attitude she evokes in facing adversity early on in the trip has me rooting for her and hoping for better days ahead. I loved how she set up work exchange to save on lodging costs, mainly with establishments that boarded horses on site as she's an accomplished equestrian and loves the animals themselves, she shows us through thoughtful planning that if you got to work for room and board, make sure it's something you'll love doing in addition to house cleaning and cooking ;)
She's careful and methodical while managing her minimal budget, taking us on shopping sprees, and sharing what's practical to spend and what's not. I also enjoyed reading about the down to earth, sometimes eccentric hosts and people she either roomed with or befriended on the streets while sightseeing through various towns.
By the end of her Spain and African trip she's attained more confidence, developed a better sense of traveling light, learning how to live without specific things, and just appreciating what she has in life versus what people abroad do not have, particularly in Africa.
When she reaches South America I could feel the shift taking place in her persona and psyche. She's reached a deeper sense of grounding, she's not as scattered in thoughts. Even the little bit of self-doubt or insecurity that surfaces she squashes with more ease and I felt relief when she spoke little of Brad, the ex-boyfriend she was still communicating with back in Europe and ultimately decides it's not doing either of them, particularly herself any good and cuts ties. It takes courage to share details of your vulnerabilities and Cathy does with explicit candor.
I admired her radical decision on embracing celibacy after some awkward and confusing hook-ups, so she could focus on cultivating inner personal changes without meaningless sexual encounters distracting her mind, body and soul with negativity. I felt inspired and empowered by this pivotal choice she made while she strengthened a deeper understanding of her self-worth and what false beliefs no longer served purpose in her life. Even when Cathy decides, after some time of dedicated celibacy, to pursue a short romantic interlude with Carlos, she's not berating herself as much with self-loathing and guilt after it ends.
The blog posts braided within the memoir were nice snippets of profound and revelatory insight correlating to that particular chapter's travel experience.
Cathy's humbleness, self-acceptance and healing she acquires after the Yoga Teacher Training in Costa Rica (last chapter of travel,) amplifies the metamorphosis of her newly found enlightenment and self-assurance.
I loved that she'd see beautiful Morpho butterflies fluttering about on separate occasions during her trips. They symbolize personal healing and spiritual transformation and that's, what I felt, she accomplished during her gap year :)
Displaying 1 of 1 review