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Call It Wonder: an odyssey of love, sex, spirit, and travel
2016 Winner "Best Memoir" and "Bi Writer of the Year"
Who hasn't dreamed of chucking it all to live a traveling life? Yet two months after Kate and her husband Dave leave home to live on the road, she awakes in the grips of a seizure. The diagnosis of a brain tumor comes at a terrible time: It is their first-year wedding anniversary, and they have no home. Soon, though, this medical adventure becomes integral to their journey. Paralleling this story are Kate's painful and often humorous exploits of body, mind, and spirit--including frank explorations of her life as a sexual iconoclast, caregiver to dying parents, and inspired but overwhelmed teacher who longs to write. Kate Evans' brave and honest memoir explores how transformation is our nature. Call It Wonder reveals how the mind is an alchemist. Through our thoughts, we can transform insecurity to freedom, uncertainty to wonder.
Who hasn't dreamed of chucking it all to live a traveling life? Yet two months after Kate and her husband Dave leave home to live on the road, she awakes in the grips of a seizure. The diagnosis of a brain tumor comes at a terrible time: It is their first-year wedding anniversary, and they have no home. Soon, though, this medical adventure becomes integral to their journey. Paralleling this story are Kate's painful and often humorous exploits of body, mind, and spirit--including frank explorations of her life as a sexual iconoclast, caregiver to dying parents, and inspired but overwhelmed teacher who longs to write. Kate Evans' brave and honest memoir explores how transformation is our nature. Call It Wonder reveals how the mind is an alchemist. Through our thoughts, we can transform insecurity to freedom, uncertainty to wonder.
390 pages, Paperback
First published October 27, 1999
8 people are currently reading
628 people want to read
About the author
Kate Evans
7 books259 followersKate is the author of the best-selling memoir duo: WANDERLAND: LIVING THE TRAVELING LIFE and CALL IT WONDER: AN ODYSSEY OF, LOVE, SEX, SPIRIT & TRAVEL, named "Best Memoir" at the Bisexual Book Awards--where Kate was also lauded as "Writer of the Year" by the Bi Writers Association.
Her other books include two novels (FOR THE MAY QUEEN & COMPLEMENTARY COLORS), two poetry collections, and a book about teaching. Her stories, poems and essays have appeared in more than 50 publications. With Mary Janelle Melvin, she co-authored a French Revolution historical romance, REVOLUTIONARY KISS (under the pen-name Mary-Kate Summers).
Recipient of a PhD from the University of Washington and an MFA from San Jose State University--where she is Emeritus Faculty--she has taught writing and literature in California, China, and Japan. As a writing coach and editor, she helps writers unleash and shape their stories. She also leads writing workshops worldwide.
Half the year she lives in Mexico. The other half, she travels.
Her other books include two novels (FOR THE MAY QUEEN & COMPLEMENTARY COLORS), two poetry collections, and a book about teaching. Her stories, poems and essays have appeared in more than 50 publications. With Mary Janelle Melvin, she co-authored a French Revolution historical romance, REVOLUTIONARY KISS (under the pen-name Mary-Kate Summers).
Recipient of a PhD from the University of Washington and an MFA from San Jose State University--where she is Emeritus Faculty--she has taught writing and literature in California, China, and Japan. As a writing coach and editor, she helps writers unleash and shape their stories. She also leads writing workshops worldwide.
Half the year she lives in Mexico. The other half, she travels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
June 28, 2015
Must the phrase “coming of age” be reserved for adolescence? Like the oft-pigeonholed “midlife crisis,” we do ourselves a disservice when we relegate soul-testing personal growth to succinct rites of passage predicated solely by a fellow’s (or a gal’s) physical age. Kate Evans’ memoir is a series of comings-of-age, one after another like waves lapping onto the shoreline. We get to tag along on her womanly surfboard as she transmutes angst and confusion into expansive revelation and self-actualization. Or at least… acceptance, in the interim.
One of my favorite lines: “I didn’t want to live a small life, huddled in a cocoon because it felt safe. Weren’t cocoons meant to be temporary?”
Her epiphanies are shared in a highly approachable way. I think that memoir, far from being self-indulgent, is the most humble teaching format because the author is saying “hey, here’s my experience—maybe you’ll find pearls that resonate, or maybe you won’t. But I share it nonetheless for the benefit of those who might.” There is no proselytizing going on here, and no pretense anywhere in sight. Yet it’s chock full of useful take-aways. What human hasn’t been fraught with angst, at one time or another, over emotional entanglements with others (or within herself)? We can never glean too many perspectives on becoming self-sovereign and happy.
Particularly, I loved how she incorporates ideas and experiences that might be considered “woo-woo”—like communication with the dead, seeing people’s auras, out-of-body experience, clairaudience. But she never uses such terminology. She just mentions these things as a casual observer of occasional “woo-woo” infusions into her otherwise normal/extraordinary life. (Which is perfect, since extrasensory anomalies are more “normal” than we normally assume!)
If you love memoir, you’re likely to eat this one up, because it’s beautifully word-crafted, terminally honest and rich with vicarious adventure. It’s vaguely reminiscent of “Eat, Pray, Love” but this protagonist may be slightly more relatable in some ways. Come to think of it, early on in her timeline it’s more like “Love, Eat, Kvetch”—but who amongst us hasn’t been THERE? Have your tissues at-the-ready because “Call it Wonder” has the power to evoke strong emotion—and that, I believe, is the ultimate raison d'être of art.
The author does something rather daring and delicate by frequently intermixing time frames and tenses, but manages to pull it off. It’s not nearly as disorienting as the movie “Memento” in its slicing and dicing of linear reality, though. In fact, it’s quite clever. It pulls you in, necessitating that you really pay attention in order to keep up. I’m sure that this could be a sticking point for some, but in a world that sometimes appears to be “dumbing itself down” in a literary sense, I say, hey, more power to you, Ms. Evans!
One of my favorite lines: “I didn’t want to live a small life, huddled in a cocoon because it felt safe. Weren’t cocoons meant to be temporary?”
Her epiphanies are shared in a highly approachable way. I think that memoir, far from being self-indulgent, is the most humble teaching format because the author is saying “hey, here’s my experience—maybe you’ll find pearls that resonate, or maybe you won’t. But I share it nonetheless for the benefit of those who might.” There is no proselytizing going on here, and no pretense anywhere in sight. Yet it’s chock full of useful take-aways. What human hasn’t been fraught with angst, at one time or another, over emotional entanglements with others (or within herself)? We can never glean too many perspectives on becoming self-sovereign and happy.
Particularly, I loved how she incorporates ideas and experiences that might be considered “woo-woo”—like communication with the dead, seeing people’s auras, out-of-body experience, clairaudience. But she never uses such terminology. She just mentions these things as a casual observer of occasional “woo-woo” infusions into her otherwise normal/extraordinary life. (Which is perfect, since extrasensory anomalies are more “normal” than we normally assume!)
If you love memoir, you’re likely to eat this one up, because it’s beautifully word-crafted, terminally honest and rich with vicarious adventure. It’s vaguely reminiscent of “Eat, Pray, Love” but this protagonist may be slightly more relatable in some ways. Come to think of it, early on in her timeline it’s more like “Love, Eat, Kvetch”—but who amongst us hasn’t been THERE? Have your tissues at-the-ready because “Call it Wonder” has the power to evoke strong emotion—and that, I believe, is the ultimate raison d'être of art.
The author does something rather daring and delicate by frequently intermixing time frames and tenses, but manages to pull it off. It’s not nearly as disorienting as the movie “Memento” in its slicing and dicing of linear reality, though. In fact, it’s quite clever. It pulls you in, necessitating that you really pay attention in order to keep up. I’m sure that this could be a sticking point for some, but in a world that sometimes appears to be “dumbing itself down” in a literary sense, I say, hey, more power to you, Ms. Evans!
June 23, 2015
Toni Morrison said: “If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”
So that's what I did.
:)
So that's what I did.
:)
August 13, 2015
I can be a promiscuous reader. It's not often that I start a book and stick to it, all the way to the end, without wandering off to visit other books. This book was a big exception; I was IN from page one, and found that I thought about it even when I wasn't reading it, carrying its concepts and quotes around in my head, borrowed quotes as well as the author's own. I marked up my copy of the book with asterisks and underlines, and tiny smiley faces in the margin, knowing I'd want to go back again for guidance and inspiration.
Evans invites us into the most intimate layers of her life, reminding us of our own versions of loss, bliss, or moments of aha. And yet, we get a chance to gain a deeper understanding through the author's first hand accounts of unique experiences we might never know for ourselves.
The author's chosen quotes are profound and spot on, and I get a kick out of how they range from Pema Chödrön to Ray Charles, Walt Whitman to the Eagles. Her own words are quotable too. I kept wondering how I might describe the way she so beautifully braids threads of past-present-past, but then, whether she meant to or not, she ultimately described it FOR me: "As though time isn't linear but is a folded-over piece of paper where events touch, where thought and outcome occur not in sequence but in a flash."
I was sad when I finished reading it, the way you might be sad at the end of a soul-to-soul conversation with a kindred spirit. Sad but rejuvenated, grateful, and so much better for having experienced it.
Evans invites us into the most intimate layers of her life, reminding us of our own versions of loss, bliss, or moments of aha. And yet, we get a chance to gain a deeper understanding through the author's first hand accounts of unique experiences we might never know for ourselves.
The author's chosen quotes are profound and spot on, and I get a kick out of how they range from Pema Chödrön to Ray Charles, Walt Whitman to the Eagles. Her own words are quotable too. I kept wondering how I might describe the way she so beautifully braids threads of past-present-past, but then, whether she meant to or not, she ultimately described it FOR me: "As though time isn't linear but is a folded-over piece of paper where events touch, where thought and outcome occur not in sequence but in a flash."
I was sad when I finished reading it, the way you might be sad at the end of a soul-to-soul conversation with a kindred spirit. Sad but rejuvenated, grateful, and so much better for having experienced it.
April 9, 2021
At first, Call it Wonder reminded me a bit of those Victorian curiosity cabinets, also known as Cabinets of Wonders, packed full of wondrous but seemingly unrelated objects. It’s a book about sexuality and gender identity that is also a book about spirituality, an intellectual coming of age, a medical crisis, and intentionally becoming houseless. What could these threads possibly have to do with each other, I wondered, and what shape would they take once woven together? Like those cabinets or maybe a Faberge egg, this memoir continues to open into the past, so that we encounter the narrator on the road and in a state of physical emergency only to plunge into the story behind the story where we learn that she has been married to both a man and a woman, that she has what some might consider paranormal experiences, and that her thinking and her actions haven’t always aligned. The wonder of this beautifully written book is in its orchestration. We repeatedly see the narrator struggle with social norms and belief constrictions in search of fluidity and freedom. In search of self-definition. Call it Wonder made me think about what happens when we take off the doors and step outside of convention and open ourselves to both a sense of wonder and the willingness to wander. A lovely book I savored and am very glad that I read.
June 22, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Call it Wonder. I liked how Kate Evans took me back and forth between the past and the present, sharing the story of her ever changing life. I feel like I know her, and want to get to know her (and Dave) better. After reading Call it Wonder, I am re-examining what’s important in my short life, and I want to explore the world and simplify my life. Thank you!
June 28, 2015
Dr. Kate Evans has written a book we may all take encouragement from, based on the functional wisdom: "Don't call it uncertainty--Call It Wonder." Brave, honest, fair-minded, and not just a little bit entertaining, Kate tells it straight, as she tells us not only a remarkable tale of the heart, but of a way through the heart of darkness when unexpectedly and all of a sudden our world falls apart.
This is a story of living life on life's terms--and how to get to the other side when life's terms mercilessly toss us out to sea.
Fear, loss, betrayal, and life-threatening illness are brutal realities most of us can and will relate to. What is surprising here is the steady interior light which Dr. Evans teaches herself to navigate by, and the rich germination born of such light when "fear becomes replaced by curiosity."
Call it wonder or call it grace, Kate Evans is a survivor who leads us down an intriguing path upon which we, too, may begin to take heart and ponder how and where our own lives might better align with our interior lamp-light, were we to re-direct our energies and rather than resist what is scary or hard, learn to walk right on through it.
Kate makes for an admirable guide: she does not turn away but rather says "yes" again and again, as she journeys, re-frames, questions, illuminates, recovers, forgives, and (my favorite part) finds her way home.. by discovering a life with no real home required. And it is in this very same radical letting go, that she manages to move straight into the heart of really living--living her own forever, right now.
This is a story of living life on life's terms--and how to get to the other side when life's terms mercilessly toss us out to sea.
Fear, loss, betrayal, and life-threatening illness are brutal realities most of us can and will relate to. What is surprising here is the steady interior light which Dr. Evans teaches herself to navigate by, and the rich germination born of such light when "fear becomes replaced by curiosity."
Call it wonder or call it grace, Kate Evans is a survivor who leads us down an intriguing path upon which we, too, may begin to take heart and ponder how and where our own lives might better align with our interior lamp-light, were we to re-direct our energies and rather than resist what is scary or hard, learn to walk right on through it.
Kate makes for an admirable guide: she does not turn away but rather says "yes" again and again, as she journeys, re-frames, questions, illuminates, recovers, forgives, and (my favorite part) finds her way home.. by discovering a life with no real home required. And it is in this very same radical letting go, that she manages to move straight into the heart of really living--living her own forever, right now.
Read
August 12, 2016Call it Wonder is a compelling Tales of the City meets Eat, Pray, Love meets Pema Chodron’s, When Things Fall Apart. Raw and edgy, Kate brings her readers on a shotgun ride through the unexpected twists and turns of her life, “sliding doors” between time and space, with each chapter. With Kate, life is unapologetically open-ended, messy, inspired, brilliant, devotional, sexual, and in the end, joyful and resilient. With her writer’s lens, she becomes the protagonist of her own story, and even as she speaks, she knows those very words will become thread for the tapestry that is Call it Wonder. Kate’s open-hearted memoir reminds us to keep asking questions and stay present with both the inevitable joys and suffering that are life. As I devoured Kate’s book, I suspected that, like me, Kate is as comfortable in an ashram as she is in biker bar, as comfortable with wine-talk, as she is with God-talk. Kate walks in many wondrous worlds, and we as her readers are privileged to peek inside her world and heart. Having read her book and resonated so deeply with her story and her observations, my internal landscape has shifted a bit closer toward freedom. – Alisa Moore, M.S., Author, Behind the Scenes: How the Universe Conspires to Support Us.
August 1, 2015
Kate Evans says in her expansive memoir, "Call It Wonder"', Transformation is who I am, who we all are." This is the heart of this book. She takes us through many trials and changes (career, lifestyle, sexual discovery) and navigates through these years with sharp self-examination, reflection, and honesty. The book starts with a shocking health crisis and then unspools by altering back and forth between past and present in a way that never is confusing but encourages the reader to keeping reading and cheer her on. By the end of the book, she has completely embodied the idea that it's not what happens to you that matters but, indeed, how your react to it. She deeply trusts and relies on the power of her intuition - what feels right - and hushes the inner critic away with great success. I was both simultaneously inspired and envious! It's a very human book from a beautiful human spirit - I recommend reading it this Summer next to your favorite body of water.
January 29, 2017
Kate has the ability to take your cognitive being through and incredible journey. Through her talent you ride an amazing rollercoaster of emotions ranging form fun and laughing to shocked, sad and teary eyed. She has the ability to write in such a fashion that weaves time in and out of the present and past with much ease. I highly recommend this book to any reader that would like to leave their senses engulfed with a diverse set of emotion. To anyone that wants to be taken away on a journey from their present day life. Once you start reading her story, you will want to continue non-stop to the ending. You will find it very difficult to put this book down once opened. She tells a story of much inspiration and dedication to herself and others. This book is a delight to read and a gift to your senses.
August 4, 2015
Kate Evans' delicious new book, Call It Wonder: An Odyssey of Love, Sex, Spirit, and Travel, has found that elusive sweet spot where all the things I want in a book come together! I literally could not put it down once I started reading. She simultaneously satiates my curiosity about the pragmatic details of how to make a huge life shift and "retire" young, while taking the reader on a deeply spiritual journey. Evans shares her journey of transformation with insights and a vulnerability that reawakened my own dreams for how I wish to live my best life. I found myself re-reading passages and taking notes in the margins. I plan to start a book club so I can talk about the many layers of this Wonder-ful book with kindred spirits!
August 12, 2015
Travel, love, sexuality, spirituality, brain surgery, and finding true happiness from within? Kate Evans' memoir Call It Wonder is a journey most of us will never take but one to which we can all relate. My mother, Gabriele Rico, who figures prominently in the book, would be proud of Evan's deft handling of intriguing and challenging story lines, including Evans' years lived as a lesbian, her life as a nomad, surviving a brain tumor, and finally, honing the ability to seek out the perfect in the imperfection of every day life. Evans is straightforward and unflinchingly honest in her telling of a turbulent past, but it is her revelations about the present that captivate and inspire. I can hear Gabriele shouting "Bravo!" from the wings.
January 3, 2016
This was a fascinating book, full of intimate detail of the author's journey into and out of a deeply committed lesbian relationship to a heterosexual relationship, with many important psychological and philosophical insights woven into a topsy-turvey journey towards a liberating sense of freedom and new possibilities for renewed happiness. Since I know the author, I was even more fascinated to have been allowed the opportunity to enter vicariously her extraordinary world of love and betrayal and newly found love. For lovers of memoir and for feminists, in particular, this book will be inspiring.
June 5, 2018
I think, much like the serendipity Kate writes toward, that a book sometimes finds you when you need it most. Kate’s book has been on my shelf since her release party years ago, but I cracked it open only recently. And there, amongst familiar landscape and a cast of characters I know by association, was insight I needed and a story that was both cathartic and spiritually guiding. If you’re at a crossroads, I highly recommend Kate’s book as a tool to understanding how your intuition and agency can change your whole life.
June 26, 2015
I absolutely loved this book. It's a memoir about a rather remarkable life, insofar as it follows a person from an ordinary life (decent job, ho-hum marriage) into an extraordinary one of freedom and travel and wholeness. I felt really inspired by the author's journey, and when I closed it upon finishing, the only thing I could think was that I wanted to life more like she does -- full of possibility and open to beauty.
July 22, 2015
This is a good read, rich in sensory detail and wise sayings to ponder. Not only a memoir but portraits of places, like Santa Cruz, and communities. I especially liked the profile Evans created of the gifted writer and teacher Gabriele Rico, and all the thoughts about a writers' life. I knew Evans was a great storyteller from her blog, and her clarity and compassion, and zest for life, are all evident here as well.
July 19, 2015
I finished reading this delightful read a few days ago and it's still there -- its simplicity and subtlety softly permeating thru my consciousness. The smoothly paced storytelling and the authors thoughtful and open-hearted spirit makes this one of the most enjoyable memoirs I've read. Highly recommended!
August 20, 2015
Took me a minute to figure out as I was reading that the story flipped back and forth from when the character was younger and then older. Some really good insights/quotes about life. My favorite was from chapter 3. A quote by May Sarton stating "Lonliness is the poverty of self; Solitude is the richness of self".
November 27, 2015
I'm usually not into reading memoirs, but I came across this author, Kate Evans, the Author Fair in San Jose and her talk was so inspiring I decided to read her book. What a wonderful surprise and treat - I read it in three days! It was so engrossing. When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. I worried for her. I rejoiced with her. She inspired me. A great story, beautifully written.
March 1, 2016
An enjoyable read!
The author has a warm voice that puts its arm around the reader. I learned about the value of showing up as who you are. Even in tough relationships and circumstances. Also a great glimpse into some interesting locations like life in Santa Cruz CA and the world down under. An enjoyable read!
The author has a warm voice that puts its arm around the reader. I learned about the value of showing up as who you are. Even in tough relationships and circumstances. Also a great glimpse into some interesting locations like life in Santa Cruz CA and the world down under. An enjoyable read!
November 28, 2015
Loved Kate's story and didn't want it to end. It's just one of those stories where I kept finding myself laughing out loud at observations of herself and others in her life and thinking (or saying out loud) YES! Me too!
March 31, 2022
I loved this book so much I bought it twice by accident! I feel like I know the author; almost every twist of her tale was something relevant to me. Such a great book to motivate, inspire, and overcome. Cheers!
July 16, 2015
I won this book here on goodreads and was amazed at this book and worth recommending to friends!
July 20, 2015
This was a Goodreads win and I'm glad i won, such an honest open memoir and such an entertainment to read!
July 18, 2015
Excellent book. An incredible journey of discovery. Can't wait to read more written by Kate Evans.
January 2, 2016
She is a great local writer, who I shall meet someday soon. Doc Steve
March 25, 2016
An inspirational glimpse into one woman's "dream life," and the journey of heartache and self-acceptance it took to get her there.
February 11, 2021
I really enjoyed reading about Kate's journeys and self-discoveries. I relate to her in many ways; the teaching and passion for writing and travel.
December 18, 2017
I really enjoyed getting to know Kate through her memoir. We met, virtually, after I left my teaching position in China; she was heading to China to teach at the same college. She sent me the Kindle version of her memoir for free, and I'm sorry to say it took me two years to finally get around to reading it.
Kate tells of her life as she dates, marries and eventually divorces her first husband, then falls in love with and marries a woman (Emily), divorces her, and then marries a man. Dave appears nerdy and straight-laced at first, but reveals a bohemian nature that he shares with Kate. They seem perfectly matched in their love of yoga, meditation, adventure and going with the flow. I wish I could be so free spirited.
Kate is honest about her wild younger self, her fantasies, her fluctuating sexuality, her love of writing and teaching, her disillusion with academia, and her physical illnesses. She struggles with defining whether she is heterosexual or homosexual but finds that sexuality can be fluid and often defies categorization. After all, you love who you love, and there's no explaining it. Kate captures wonderfully the ephemeral nature of love and life. In her memoir, she shows great capacity to learn and grow, from being a clinging and jealous spouse to her wife, Emily, to being more secure in her own individuality. I love how she comes to the conclusion that she doesn't need anyone else to complete her, that she is complete and perfect just the way she is. I am also inspired by the life she is carving out for herself, on her own terms. An enjoyable book all around.
Kate tells of her life as she dates, marries and eventually divorces her first husband, then falls in love with and marries a woman (Emily), divorces her, and then marries a man. Dave appears nerdy and straight-laced at first, but reveals a bohemian nature that he shares with Kate. They seem perfectly matched in their love of yoga, meditation, adventure and going with the flow. I wish I could be so free spirited.
Kate is honest about her wild younger self, her fantasies, her fluctuating sexuality, her love of writing and teaching, her disillusion with academia, and her physical illnesses. She struggles with defining whether she is heterosexual or homosexual but finds that sexuality can be fluid and often defies categorization. After all, you love who you love, and there's no explaining it. Kate captures wonderfully the ephemeral nature of love and life. In her memoir, she shows great capacity to learn and grow, from being a clinging and jealous spouse to her wife, Emily, to being more secure in her own individuality. I love how she comes to the conclusion that she doesn't need anyone else to complete her, that she is complete and perfect just the way she is. I am also inspired by the life she is carving out for herself, on her own terms. An enjoyable book all around.
October 11, 2022
I thoroughly enjoyed this poetically written book. The different timelines meld together seamlessly as we journey with Kate through the life experiences that brought her to the love and freedom filled life she lives in the present. I highly recommend this beautiful book.
December 16, 2017
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. It was a very interesting book. Not something I would have bought but I'm glad I read it. The author had a very profound journey and is worth reading. My only criticism is it jumped around in the timeline and it was confusing as to which events happened first. I wish dates would have been used at the start of the chapters or page breaks. But despite that, it was good. If you like reading biographies this is a good book for you but if you don't like them, I'd skip it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews