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

413 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 8, 2025

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.]

[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.

[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!

[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.

[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

[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.

[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

[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.

[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!!