Confessions of a Middle-Aged Backpacker: A Solo Travel Memoir

by Chris Gattanella

Until his midlife crisis arrived, Chris Gattanella always played it safe. He spent two decades sinking into a nice cozy life and career in Los Angeles.

Now in his forties and newly single, he suddenly feels unfulfilled and bored. Is it because he never ventured out to see the world? Impulsively, Chris burns years of saved vacation time on a six-week “test run” through Europe to see if he enjoys being a wandering backpacker. Thrilled with his adventure, he then sells his condo and quits his job.

But to make long-term travel on the road feasible, Chris will have to live frugally. Finding himself amongst mostly young people in hostels, he will try to blend in with the crowd. He’ll survive multiple monkey attacks, a boat sinking, altitude sickness, a deranged sea captain, and many other bizarre encounters with people, animals, and transportation on seven continents. Two and a half years and 40+ countries later he'll have a multitude of ridiculous anecdotes ... and he'll be a little closer to understanding the meaning of life.

Genres: Memoir, Travel, Nonfiction, Adventure

413 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 8, 2025

About the author

Chris Gattanella has written more than 40 episodes of strange TV shows. He's produced over a thousand promos, radio ads, and trailers that you've probably muted or skipped. He's also written for print publications and the internet. He's won the Promax Award, Silver Mark Award, and is a three-time Asimov Award Honorable Mention.

He lives in Venice, California.

Reviews

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Confessions of a reader:

I was in month 4 of a 5 month stint as an older backpacker myself (in my case in my mid 30s) when I met the author on a boat in Chile (and later hiked with him and 2 other Americans, one of which was a friend visiting me from Atlanta). I deeply resent any characterization of a similar character to myself as being from the suburbs, but I digress. I was one of the many dedicated readers of the author's blog posts who said his writing was high quality (and hilarious) and that he should write a book about his travels. That said, though I would feel obligated to give this book a 5 on that grounds alone, I genuinely did find it to be wonderful. I recommend this book to people who love to travel, people who love to laugh and pretty much anyone who is curious about the world backpacker lifestyle.

Thank you for listening to your fans, dear author.

[Note: It took me a long time to read this (1) due to library books from my wait list coming available, which needed to be read immediately to avoid more multi month wait times, and (2) because it was too funny at times to be useful as a late night read because the laughter would make me feel more awake.]

[Alan McIlroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A five for me, but honestly not for everyone, perhaps. I actually had the luxury of splitting into three flights. It was long and I just took a couple of breaks to read other things. But the idea of quitting your job at 42 and backpacking around the world on the cheap was just too intriguing to pass up. He writes well. Lots of detail, lots of stories. Not self absorbed or forcing some sort of moral or life lessons learned. More like a normal guy you’d like to have a beer with and listen to his stories. I enjoyed finishing the book, but I’d even recommend reading as much or as little as you like.

[barbara a. woodruff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Gattanella tosses job and condo aside and sets forth to visit the world as a backpacker. In his 40's years he set a daily budget grabs his credit cards and goes out. He wanders in Europe, Central America, Africa, New Zealand, Australia and discusses his adventures. Using hostels and other cheap housing he visits foreign countries, tries the food, meets people in those countries. I was amazed at some of the places and boats he stayed on. Bus trips, plane trips, hikes, Chris covers in 2 1/2 years many towns. He goes on a safari in Africa and mentions the animals, birds etc he encounters. Chris writes like a journal being written easy to follow and with descriptions accurate enough to visualize and experience what he sees. While I envy him, I am female and not many of the places or ships he travels on would be safe for me to travel. Thank you Chris for a wonderful journey through your eyes and experiences. I propped the Kindle edition on my treadmill and experienced his journey while "hiking on mine". Recommend this book. Well written.

[amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious and thought provoking

As a lifelong traveler who has never quite mussed up the courage to quit everything and live out of the backpack for months on end, I thought this book sounded terrific. And it was. I could relate to so many of the episodes of strange adventures on the road and also to the stunning realization you can come to about yourself while traveling.

A great read or gift for anybody who loves to travel.

[Jane G · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful vicarious adventure

Loved reading this book! So filled with adventure. The descriptive writing took me along with the author. Very envious of this wonderful adventure

[Wayne M Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

2.5 years wandering the globe with a backpack...This book was so engrossing I was devastated when I finished it. Chris is an amazing writer and skilled navigator. He never looked down on the countries he visited and treated each location with the respect it deserved. I loved both the practical knowledge imparted, the humorous stories, and the internal struggles he overcame in his massive journey across so much of our Earth. This is travel writing at its best.

[Peter Hendrycks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! I have travelled a lot in my life, and had countless adventures. But I never considered an extended trip like Chris did. Reading this book made me appreciate the spirit and fortitude he has. Selling off everything, and becoming a nomad. Not just anybody could have done a trip like his! His writing style made for easy reading, and he describes the situation at hand in a way that you feel like you're there, whether you are fighting off a monkey attack, or going on a safari among many things. This trip must have cost him a lot, and I wonder how much of his nest egg was left when he returned to LA with no place to live, no car, no job, no furniture. That took some balls. Im glad he found someone to share things with. That ended up changing his perspective, which was surprising, even to himself! I will check out his other books!

[Katie Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun journey around the world. This is the first audio book I’ve listened to that was narrated by AI. AI hasn’t quite gotten there in terms of narration as it frequently picked the wrong pronunciation of words that can be pronounced 2 ways (e.g., windy can be
Pronounced like the weather or the turn-y road, and this AI reading pretty much always picked the wrong one). It also butchered foreign city names and foreign words, which is a disservice for a book about discovering the world.

[Scott Pugliese · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked this book enough to read it from cover to cover but it consistently left me wanting more. I wanted more about all the ways he tried to save money while traveling and more depth about the relationships he formed while traveling. I didn’t find it particularly funny or entertaining but a good and interesting bedtime read.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What an Excellent writer — and Great book!

Thank you, Chris for sharing your adventures and insights with us! I look forward to your next installment as two traveling together. Cheers! Steve

[Philip C. Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting book on the 2 1/2 year journey through Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia, Oceania, Central and South America. He gives you insight on the various countries, what to aware of, things to see, and things to avoid. Made me want to backpack in his footsteps and I'm 77.

[Betty M. Reinke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must Read

Great to read your stories and experience places we have been, thru your journey.
I truly felt like I was with you ….

[Jill Tipton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read for anyone who loves travel!

I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this book, reading it slowly to not miss any detail. Anyone who travels will love it!

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

inspirational!

Such a great read! I loved every detail of the book. THANKS for sharing your travels….all all the great travel ideas.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

We selected this book as one I would read aloud to my husband. He reads very well, but he likes me to be the reader. I'm fine with that. The theme-- backpacking adventures-- sounded like something my husband would enjoy hearing about because he was once an avid traveler, but now at 76, he doesn't anticipate doing much traveling.

The book was full of adventures, and as someone said, it was both hilarious and thought-provoking. It was also very long. As much as we got pulled into the adventures and the pretty good travel writing, I was happy to read the final chapter. It was loooonnng. I don't think I could have finished it on my own, so if you are inclined to enjoy reading aloud with a partner, this book is a good choice for that. It might also be a good selection for a book club read, if that is still a thing?

We liked the descriptions of personal transformation, such as how he did a pretty rough meditation retreat, and how he became more empathetic as the book went on. Towards the end of the memoir, he was able to travel with people who would likely have driven him over the edge during his first year of a more egotistical stage in the beginning of the book.

We were impressed with his desire to continue to try things that pushed him and resulted in feelings of accomplishment. We enjoyed the humor that stopped being the usual snide and cynical modern humor and became just more understanding while recognizing irony and pathos.

Yes, a good book. If you enjoy traveling, I think you will enjoy many parts of this book.

[Stacey P · Rating 1 out of 5]

Currently 15% in, and I'm calling it: DNF.

I rarely give up on a book this early, but this one gave me no reason to keep going. The writing feels painfully amateur, with awkward prose and the depth of a grade-school writing assignment. It honestly reads like a first draft that never saw an editor.

For a book aimed at travelers, there's surprisingly little substance. There's no compelling story, no meaningful travel insight, and no practical advice—just page after page of self-indulgent rambling that never seems to go anywhere. The author really should have used a ghost writer.

The final straw was the author's relentless commentary about the women he encounters. Nearly every mention is filtered through his attraction to them, and it quickly crosses from tiresome into creepy. It paints the picture of exactly the kind of man many solo female travelers hope they don't meet on the road.

[Kyle Kading · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF, 33% completed. It is hard to get past the authors arrogant tone.Puts down other countries monuments and attractions. Goes out and plays like he is a poor backpacker, while really is a well off person trying to play poor and backpacking while having contacts in countries and doing paid gigs for income.
The book does not tell any interesting,exciting or funny stories. Just a month by month of travel. It is a hard read, long with nothing captivating. Not worth your time in my opinion

[debra meyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great personal story of travel

Whether you are an experienced solo traveler, vacationer traveler or just thinking about travel, this book is for you. So much fun to read and more informative than any of the well known guides. I'm on my way to Southeast Asia and will definitely use Chris's experiences and opinions in making my final plans

[Gwynn Thornton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brave adventure!

Enjoyed seeing all the different places he traveled but some times jumping from one country to another was confusing. Still an enjoyable read about an amazing experience.

[Nelson B C Ferreira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun Read

Fun read. Well written. Crisp style of writing. Descriptive often funny. Great entertaining read. Especially good if you you have backpacked and fantasize about adventure travel.

[Sally Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great adventures with Chris.

I liked reading about all of the adventures Chris had. This book was hard to put down and I really enjoyed reading about the many far off places visited by the middle aged back packer. Bravo.

[David Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. I made it through 35% and just couldn’t take it any longer. The writing drags on. Even the few exciting moments the writer seems to make benign.

[Paige Lounsberry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed living vicariously through the author’s experiences. His attempts to pick up women were a bit much and I almost DNF’ed due to this, but I’m glad I stuck it out.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author traveled a lot around the world, many backward, distant lands where he met other travelers. In the end he finds he enjoys having a beloved companion more than traveling alone.

[Martin J. Audiffred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Places you may not know exist

The large cities have the ability to draw you in, however smaller places may please you more. Venture out to find them.

[Denise Feezor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read! Many of Chris’s travels keep you on edge, and also offer exciting, informative, and funny experiences throughout his journey to so many unique countries. On my last chapter of my Kindle, and want more! Won’t disappoint!!