Smiling at the World: A Woman's Passionate Yearlong Quest for Adventure and Love

by Joyce Major

USA Book News has just named "Smiling at the World: A Woman s Passionate Quest for Adventure and Love" the National Award Winner in the travel division! Find out what travelers with a purpose are raving about! Major takes us on a yearlong voluntourism adventure around the world as Major discovers the world as a volunteer immersing herself in the culture while covering a wide variety of projects from lion cubs and elephants, to kangaroos and monkeys, from a restoration project to a sustainability sanctuary, from a newspaper reporter to teaching English and more! Major's passion for helping the planet, her zany sense of humor and gift of storytelling will provide escape and inspiration to readers to live with passion and explore their place on the earth. "Smiling at the World" is a celebration - a story about love in its many forms for wildlife, for the earth, for humanity and how a smile connects them all.

368 pages, Paperback

First published November 11, 2007

About the author

"The Orangutan Rescue Gang" has won the Readers View Book of the Year for 12-16/YA Readers. It is also a semi-finalist in the Chanticleer Middle Grade Awards Contest. It is a Book Excellence Award Winner in Pre-Teen Fiction, an. American Fiction Awards Finalist, won a B.R.A.G. medallion, and a Feathered Quill Be Kind to Animals Award! I am very proud of all of these awards that are proof that readers are enjoying my book while learning about orangutan and rainforest conservation.

Reviews

[Pat Sulgrove · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inspiring journal chronicling her travels around the world volunteering with a variety of projects. Heartwarming stories of people and their dedication to their projects and of the warmth and caring of people throughout the world. She reveals her courage and her fears through these experiences. At the end, I felt like I wanted to jump on the plane and just go.

[Larisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this memoir of a year spent volunteering in different places (mostly animal sanctuaries) around the world. I'd love to do something similar myself someday. I liked that the author was honest both about her own shortcomings and the few places that did not live up to her expectations. As with all travel, things don't always work out like you plan, and her mantra of "adjust, adjust, adjust" is good advice to any traveler. However, the writing really needed better copy-editing; as another reviewer mentioned, I found it hard to believe that people actually said some of the things she quoted, using those words--some of the conversations seemed very stilted, and the punctuation was sometimes off. Overall, though, it made for a great armchair-vacation and it was inspiring to see that a woman of 57 took on this challenge and found it such a rewarding experience.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Half way through this inspiring tale of a woman's travels around the world. Joyce recounts personal tales & stories of her experience of volunteering...
So far, This book has truly inspired my heart...Originally picked it up, (b/c my dad went to school with the author) author traveled to new zealand....

[Lis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was given to me by my high school student leadership class as a goodbye present. It isn't particularly good writing, but it paints a clear picture of the life of a traveling volunteer all over the world. Fitting plot for our upcoming trip.

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

57 year old Seattle women takes off for a year trip, volunteering each month at a different place. What is not to like about this idea?

[Norinka Federow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smiling at the World by Joyce Major has won the USA national book award and I read the edition that has
pictures that are fascinating. It's a wonderful book by a newcomber.

[Tricia Rendina]

I want this life!!