Someplace Else: On Wanderlust, Expatriate Life, & the Call of the Wild

by Bart Schaneman

Where we choose to live defines us. This collection of essays and poems explores the themes of travel, of living abroad and of returning home after five years of living out of country. In Someplace Else, Bart Schaneman attempts to answer that eternal question--is this the best place for me to live my life, or is there someplace else I should be?

Full of adventure, curiosity, and love of the road, Schaneman's writing will take you to far flung destinations and give you a new appreciation for the place you call home ... for now.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

161 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2015

About the author

Bart Schaneman lives and writes in South Korea. He has published numerous stories, essays and poems and is most recently the author of The Pot Job.

Reviews

[Igrowastreesgrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is honestly one of the best books I've ever read. I feel that I have gained a lot by reading about his experiences through life that will help me in mine. It made me think. It made me feel understood. It made me wish there was more to read. I know that everything that I have read will stay with me and make me a better person because of it.

[Not Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bart Schaneman really pisses me off.
Let me start from the beginning. The first time I read Bart was his essay On Moving To New York and Being Who You Say You Are on Thought Catalog (Entitled: New York in the book). I was 21, living in New York City, and I was following the site just as it hitting a fine line between List articles and personal essays. If you go on the site today, it’s more of the former.
When I got around to it, I read it twice. After the second time I shook my head and turned towards the apartment windows, muttering curses under my breath. Before Bart came along, the only other known writers that I knew with a similar style were Ellis, Hemingway, or Murakami. I was pissed. His writing is that good.
A novel, a novella, and an onslaught of essays later, Bart comes out strong once again with his latest work: Someplace Else. It’s a fantastic read. Most of the essays here are reprints from other journals with some newer pieces and poetry too. Some of the Korean essays and the New York life essays I’ve read before, but after revisiting them after some five years apart, it brings me back to why I follow his writing in the first place.
Few millennial writers can write as clearly and honestly as Bart. His prose is neither pretentious nor full of the fluff that often clogs the early writings of young writers (reviewer included). This is a collection by an American talent who will continue to motivate readers and force them to look at the world through a different lense.
You should not ignore this book.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book of essays and poetry. It speaks to man's desire to belong as well as his need for adventure. It is autobiographical in the best of ways. Schaneman bares his soul to explain his take on the effects of his travels and the places he lived and worked in on himself and his relationships to others. It begs the question: Can you go home again? I believe many people will see themselves in some of these works. I will be recommending it to several people who it put me in mind of. I enjoyed reading this as much as a mother of twenty-somethings (who was this age once) as a young man or woman who is living it would. (I received this book in a goodreads giveaway.)

[Elizabeth Beson · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my new favorite books–quick read but if you've lived out of the country and/or came from a middle of nowhere midwest town you'd love this book. He answers a lot of questions to the thoughts swirling around in your head about if you made the right decision to live here, work this job, should you call your family more, move somewhere for work, and so on. Fantastic read. I actually sent a copy to a friend and kept a copy for myself to reread and loan to people if anyone wants to read it!

[Danny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once I got into the idea of the book, I couldn't put it down. It helped validate the ideas and feelings I have had since I moved away from home. Bart's writing and his frame of the world as a white man (I know, I know...) was great to read about. Refreshing.

I appreciate how vulnerable Bart was in the book and that helped me relate even more to it. I would read it again and recommend it to certain friends.

[KarnagesMistress · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fellow child of the Midwest, I, too, spent a great number of years wanting out. Like Bart Schaneman, I largely got out. Like Bart Schaneman, I learned that security is not overrated. Some places require you to be willing to sacrifice everything to live there. My father, raised on the same 40 acres that I was, spent almost two decades of his life out. Then, he got tired of not having anything, especially a family. Sound familiar, Bart? To paraphrase the cowboy, SoCal ain't the kind of place to raise your kids. In fact, it's cold as hell. And there's no one there to raise them if you did. SoCal, Seoul, Stuyvesant, it's all the same. None of them love you back. I'm glad you figured it out; it makes sharing your talented writing with others less fear inducing. I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways. It is autographed.

[Aimee Ortega · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book an incredible amount. I actually bought it because I had seen quotes/passages/some of the essays published in other places and really liked them. It's very short but it took me a few days to read because I kept stopping to reflect on parts and how it made me feel and think about my life.

[Nina Little · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick, easy, enjoyable read (but with lots of added time for reflection and reminiscing). An interesting mix of short stories and poetry. As someone who has lived abroad; questioned my career, relationship and other life choices; bemoaned my passing youth and generally struggled to find my place in life...I found Schaneman's writing to be very enjoyable and relatable.