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Not Afraid of the Fall

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After purchasing one-way flights from New York City to Paris, Kyle James and his girlfriend Ashley quit their day jobs, planned futures, and their daily paradigms to see as much of the world as they could. In 114 days, they trekked across 15 countries and 38 cities with nothing but their backpacks, their smartphones, and each other. Not Afraid of the Fall is the unvarnished story of their off-the-cuff journey: From cliff-jumping on Croatia's untouched coasts to bathing with rescued elephants in Thailand; from crashing mopeds on mountainous gravel roads in Santorini, to hitchhiking with strangers in rental cars in Hungary.

Part travelogue memoir, part love letter to those staring at the walls of a corporate cubicle, Not Afraid of the Fall is an inspiring book that captures both the sweet mysteries of life on the road as well as an empowering narrative for anyone who has ever uttered the words "maybe next year."

256 pages, Paperback

First published July 11, 2017

83 people are currently reading
1708 people want to read

About the author

Kyle James

21 books18 followers
Kyle James grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and spent his years after childhood wandering the globe. He currently splits time in Seattle where he lobbies for clean energy initiatives and Asheville where he owns a Thai food truck called Bun Intended. Not Afraid of the Fall is his debut book.

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5 stars
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140 (23%)
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158 (26%)
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65 (10%)
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42 (6%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
Profile Image for Sarah.
291 reviews
July 10, 2017
Kyle and Ash quit their Denver jobs, because 4 years of ‘real life’ has beaten them down, and decide to go backpacking for 4 months. Their grand plan is to have $6000 left in their bank account when they have to go back to the real world.

There itinerary can be summarized quite simply – say in an Airbnb, take a BlaBlaCar from city to city, eat and drink beer/wine. Ash's activity seems to be summarized as - shop at Zara and nap. Oh, they also go to a lot of beaches, jump off cliffs and complain about the air conditioning or lack there of. This book reads as a journal, but with way too much information (every type of bodily fluid imaginable seems to make an appearance). They spend so little time in many of the cities that the level of content and description of each locale is lacking. They never really get below the surface in most instances. They have a couple of extended stays, but quality over quantity would have made for a much more interesting narrative.

The target audience for this book seems to be 20-somethings looking for inspiration to quit a job and go traveling. If you do, don’t use this as a guide. Take more time in a few cities rather than 38 cities in 114 days. Averaging 3 days per city checks a lot of cities off a list, but the depth of experience in those cities is limited. Especially when it seems like half their time was spent walking to find beer.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley.
Profile Image for Alexandra.
138 reviews7 followers
November 25, 2018
Omg guys.

They like... traveled. Through Europe. And to Thailand. And omg. Did you know that Zara is awesome? And Belgian beer is like, good? And that the Cinque Terre are, non-ironically, the pumpkin spice latte of Europe? Which is a good thing?

Whoaaaaaa.

Sorry - so mean. I think this is a great book for anyone who hasn’t traveled and is looking for insights. Avoid at all costs if you’re any sort of seasoned or adventurous traveler.
Profile Image for Melanie Maloney.
414 reviews8 followers
October 11, 2017
First of all I'd like to thank Kyle and Ashley(Ash) for sharing this honest memoir with us! I loved every minute of your 114 day journey from Denver to Bangkok and all the amazing stops in between! It was funny, sweet and inspiring. I have added so many places to visit to my bucket list! And above all I learned a valuable lesson. We don't all have the opportunity to drop the rat race and go on amazing adventures but if we make time we can appreciate the little things and takes risks in life that make us happy! What an amazing adventure!!!
Profile Image for Amanda.
492 reviews11 followers
April 14, 2017
First off, that is the sweet dedication I've ever read and I am hook by just reading the forward! I can't wait to see where this ride will take them.

The authors personality shines through and you feel like you are listening to a friend with a great since of humor. He had me laughing out loud so many times I lost count.

Here is a quote from the self proclaimed "Unemployed Backpackers": "I can tell this trip is going to be a life-changing experience because it’s only the first week and I am completely out of my comfort zone with no structure to my life right now."

I felt like I was there right beside them experiencing the excitement of jumping into the Adriatic Sea and several other death defying moments. I want to go on this trip and I too was so sad when the book ended. I thought it would he repetitive hearing about traveling for so many days but it didn't. I was on the edge of my chair waiting to see what the next day would have in store.

If you have ever wanted to go on a trip around the world or even just a trip away from the hum drum life, this book is for you. This has kindled my desires for world travel even more and I am looking forward to my next trip and plan to be more brave and try new things this time thanks to this book.
Profile Image for Laura.
24 reviews3 followers
May 3, 2018
Sorry but, this was atrocious. Don’t buy this, you won’t enjoy it. Spend your time watching Harry Potter or painting your bathroom or doing literally anything else.
Profile Image for Taylor.
643 reviews8 followers
May 16, 2018
I've been waiting a long time to write this review, pretty much since I read the first chapter. I decided to read this book because first and foremost I LOVE travel memoirs/journals. I first heard about this book when a video was posted on Facebook about Kyle and how this book is his love letter to Ash. I must have missed the love letter part because the interactions between them seemed to be a lot of fighting and arguing. Not that it happened throughout the whole book, just most.
The biggest flaw I believe is that even though this is a book about two people travelling the world and visiting an insane amount of countries and cities, there was no way to tell them apart. It seemed that the recipe for each city was: travel snafu on the way to Airbnb, arrive at Airbnb and immediately be disappointed that there is no AC, decide to "explore" the city by walking to the nearest bar, drink in the same bar all night, wake up the next morning hungover, complain about being hungover, fight, "explore" the city again - most likely to the next nearest bar, repeat. There were minimal descriptions of each location. Had they not posted which city and country they were in at the beginning of each section you wouldn't know, I would've just assumed they were in Denver the whole time!
Another problem I had was that it seems like Kyle tried to be deep at times, but it came off all wrong. For example, while visiting an elephant sanctuary in Thailand he had a brief chapter about how elephants can be abused at some of these sanctuaries and what a shame it is since they're such beautiful creatures...and then he jumped right back into whatever he had been talking about before. To me it sounded a lot like an after-thought or during the editing process someone mentioned, hey, you know, those places aren't so great. Very disjointed and very surface level.
Ugh, and the constant complaining about tourists...THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE!! Visiting somewhere new is very exciting and everyone wants to take pictures and see the sights and all of that, that's fine! But don't complain about tourists being in your way doing tourist things when that's exactly what you're doing! We all have tourist tendencies in us, especially in new places! Accept it and move on!
Another thought, the "real-world" really isn't that terrible. The constant complaining and doomsday talk of having to go back to the "real-world" got really old after a while. We would all like to travel the world forever and have to work minimally but that's not realistic. And the fact that you were able to travel for months on a teacher and non-profit workers salary makes no sense to me but you did it, and that's great! If the thought of going back to work sounds that horrible, don't blame it on the "system". Meditate, reflect, whatever, but find what works for you - not everyone is as privileged when it comes to money as these two seem to be.
Overall, it was a great premise, had great potential, and fell incredibly flat.
Profile Image for Rachel Stansel.
1,396 reviews19 followers
April 15, 2017
I love a good travel memoir and one that starts with this romantic dedication had me excited to read!

I enjoyed the stories of this young couple as they traveled through Europe and Asia. The author's style is not polished, but this is a memoir and I like feeling like I can hear him as he writes.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. The only negative for me was the percent of the book where the topic was beer (or alcohol in general). Finding it, buying it, drinking it and recovering from it. It is, I guess the reality of their trip, but got dull to keep hearing. And it made me sad that they were seeing amazing places but were (minimally) buzzed throughout. like they couldn't have fun without a beer in hand.

Like I said, the memoir was enjoyable, just be prepared to spend a good deal of time talking booze.

Full disclosure - I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Cameron Carson.
1 review2 followers
July 31, 2017
Not Afraid of the FallReading this book is like listening to Kyle talk to an old friend.

I actually ordered this as an EBook after I saw an article written by Cosmopolitan.com that was shared via facebook. The sweet dedication in the book with the marriage proposal was enough for me and I downloaded it immediately.

I read this book in probably 3 days. I loved how each traveling day was an easy read and didn't fill me with boring details. I loved learning not only about WHERE Kyle and Ashley traveled, but HOW they got there. I have not yet experienced traveling overseas (I'm from Richmond, VA) and it intrigued me at how many buses, cars, trains, trolleys, airplanes, mopeds, boats, etc it took to get them from point A to point B!

Also, I loved learning about the food and cultures and people during their experience! One reviewer commented about their beer consumption (and "slight buzz") and although I'm a wine gal myself, I was also totally intrigued to find out what the beer would be like from place to place! Also, they were on VACATION...like for 4 months. Who doesn't drink on vacation?! So cheers to them!

Also, this totally made me want to start traveling more with my husband and kids! Would absolutely love to experience new places and make priceless memories.

In closing, I must add that my favorite part(s) of the book was when Kyle touched on how Ashley felt about her body as they ate and drank across these 38 cities. Its refreshing to see how much they not only immersed themselves into these cultures via their food, but how Kyle gently described her self-consciousness in regards to weight gain over the trip and how much he adored her...no matter. He valued how much she was growing and changing as a person, rather than how her body may be slightly changing over the course of their trip.

Worth the read!! Share it with your friends! I hope Kyle makes a second book on life after their adventures!Not Afraid of the Fall
Profile Image for Alison.
2,461 reviews46 followers
July 16, 2017
This was a really good and well told story of Kyle and Ashley's travels through Europe and Thailand. Kyle's descriptions of the areas they visited were very honest and relatable. It made me see some of the things in a different light, than perhaps I did when traveling in some of the same areas, years ago. That is the beauty of a travel story, as we all see things differently, and can appreciate different views. They had some pretty amazing experiences along their journey.
I loved the way that they related to each other as well, not having been used to being together 24/7 you could see the relationship mature as they learned how to deal with conflict and stress or how they boosted each others morale.
I love the way they sought out people connections and routine in a lot of the places they visited, which gave them a feeling of stability after moving around so much.
One thing he said in the book was: I wish instead of “what do you do” when meeting someone, that people would ask “so what makes you happy”
I learned about different modes of transportation, which I had never heard about, and that is good for future trips.
The only thing I could have read less about was the amount of drinking they did, but I guess that is their age.
Thank you to NetGalley and Inkshares for the ARC copy of the book
Profile Image for Melissa (Hiatus due to Death in Family).
5,124 reviews3,072 followers
September 28, 2017
https://lifefullybooked.com/2017/09/2...
I thoroughly enjoyed taking this trip along with Kyle and Ashley, and think that there is inspiration here for anyone to take away, even if you aren’t ready to leave home to travel the world. That’s what makes a travel memoir so great, you can do it all from the comfort of your own home until you’re ready to take the leap. See full review on my blog post.
Profile Image for Alison Davis.
13 reviews
January 9, 2019
I bought this book for a trip as I was looking for a travel memoir. I am sure this book is a fantastic memory for the author and his partner and was probably fun for their family and friends to read upon their return. But as someone who has also traveled Europe for an extended period of time, I was extremely bored with the mundane details of each day and could not finish the book. This is a travel diary more than a memoir as I struggled to see any underlying themes and stories. I'd rather go back and read my old travel blogs if that is what I'm going to read. I saw another review that said it might be exciting for people who have never traveled but not to well-seasoned travelers and I'd have to agree.
Profile Image for Brianna.
12 reviews3 followers
July 18, 2018
I had to remind myself, constantly, that Kyle and Ash don’t travel the way I do, and that’s ok. BUT the amount of time in all of these cities and countries they spent sleeping in, shopping at stores that are available everywhere, and doing the same thing day after day frankly made me cringe.
Then you lament that the trip of a lifetime is over at the end...? How so? Just go to Zara and it’s like you’re on vacation again.
For this reason I kept putting the book down and >250 pages took me over 6 months to read.
However, I admire that they took the trip. I’m proud of people who get out of their bubble and experience the world. Even if it is one beer on a random beach at a time, day in and day out.
551 reviews2 followers
November 8, 2017
Heard about this since it came from a local Asheville author, but was bored out of my mind within a few pages. There is nothing original, funny or inspiring in this travelogue.
Profile Image for Lena.
21 reviews1 follower
July 23, 2018
This is the worst book I've read in a while. I couldn't even force myself to finish it. This couple travels without seeing anything!
Profile Image for Rodney Buck.
9 reviews1 follower
September 13, 2017
Great for feeding the wanderlust!

This was a great journal of a couple taking a chance to leave it all and travel. Some great stories, ideas for where to travel yourself, and personal introspection. Easy to read with short daily journal entries.
Profile Image for Denise Brooks.
8 reviews1 follower
May 4, 2017
Through Kyle James' unique travelogue, this armchair traveler experienced the nail-biting fear of a ferry's near capsize in a storm in Southeast Asia, the tranquility of floating face-down in a sea full of exotic fish, the gutwrenching thrill of impossibly high cliffdives, the hollow eeriness of the cells of Auschwitz, and the satisfying fullness of delicious homecooked Italian food in Rome.

Having read quite a few travelogues, I sallied forth into the preface of Kyle's book with several preconceptions: 1) I will travel vicariously though many of the same European cities as with other travel writers, 2) I will gather facts (some known to me, some new to me) about historical structures and sites, and 3) At some point, I will get a bit bogged down and perhaps even bored by the descriptions of the mechanics of travel.

To my surprise, Kyle took me to cities, sites and experiences I've never read about in typical travel diaries: abandoned Tempelhof Airport in Berlin, the crowded bathhouses of Budapest, Zakreb in Croatia, the Old Town Square in Prague, and ruin pubs in Budapest.

Traveling by BlaBlaCar, staying in Airbnbs, tightly budgeting day by day, planning and making arrangements on the fly and via cell phone only, the fact that you can shop at Zara in pretty much any city in the world (ha), spending way more time in coffee shops and bars than your average Boomer traveler, seeing the world from the Millenial perspective - these are among the distinctive elements that kept me turning pages.

I especially loved the way Kyle wove the human element into his story. He wrote about his great pleasure in girlfriend and traveling companion Ashley's joy in each new place. He was transparent about the rough patches of living in such close contact day in day out and through a variety of challenging travel experiences, as well as the omnipresent worry he felt regarding what awaited the two when they resumed "ordinary," post travel life.

Better still were the stories of the kindness of people they met along the way, some they already knew or with whom they had a connecting friendship; others were cross-cultural relationships complete with language barriers and unexpected social situations. Kyle was excellent at providing vivid, charming snapshots of the real life of ordinary people.

Alcohol consumption was, for me, a bit of a perplexing and excessive distraction, but it's part and parcel of Kyle's unvarnished truth. For me, the authenticity of this book was exhilirating, and I highly recommend it.
60 reviews3 followers
December 7, 2017
When I first started reading this book, I thought, "Why didn't I do this? I'm even a better writer than this guy." But it got better and I got humbler.
1 review
July 9, 2017
I am not a reader...the last book I read was about 4 years ago. Within 20 hours of receiving this book in the mail, I was done! I couldn't put it down. It was a great, easy read and I couldn't wait to see what happened next! While reading, I felt as though I was actually traveling on the journey with Kyle and Ash. There is good humor in the book as well as such honestly on the highs and lows of their adventure. I admire Kyle and Ash for taking that leap of faith and being Not Afraid of the Fall. I would 100% recommend this book to anyone and everyone.
Profile Image for Katie McKenna.
Author 2 books36 followers
July 8, 2017
I absolutely devoured this book! It was honest, interesting, full of amazing travel tips and increased my wanderlust to about a million! I loved following Kyle and Ashley on their beautiful adventure around the world. Kyle is an incredible storyteller, and after I finished his book I didn't just feel like I had read a book, I felt like I had made two new wonderful friends! This is the perfect summer read!
Profile Image for Katie Ludwig.
13 reviews1 follower
October 25, 2017
As a fellow mid-20s Denverite that has quit jobs to travel and chase dreams before, I thought this book seemed super promising and right up my alley. Unfortunately it reads more like any generic travel blog/journal with no real narrative other than a vague theme of ~taking chances~ and documenting a pretty standard backpacking trip.

Although I found this book to be pretty boring, I suppose it is an accurate portrayal of backpacker travel. I did also appreciate the author shedding some light on the brutal truth of elephant tourism in Thailand.
Profile Image for Arielle.
18 reviews
November 24, 2019
"How to complain and get hungover while traveling."

I really wanted to like this book, but it's not great. The author comes off as incredibly immature and self-centered.

The writing and the metaphors are very weak. And so much repetition -- Zara, Beer, "The worst five words I've ever heard".

Would have liked to read Ash's story
Profile Image for Keri Bender.
37 reviews
September 1, 2017
It was very obvious a 20-something year old wrote this book (based on the amount of alcohol consumed :-) ). However, it was interesting in that being a planner myself the ability to travel in this manner would definitely require the need to let go, go with the flow and not be afraid of the fall, and that was an interesting perspective.
12 reviews
November 25, 2018
Great read!!

I love adventure and chose to vicariously read and live your adventures in my mind. Thank you for sharing this epic journey. You captured the emotions, cultures, experiences, and love and transcribed them into fluency of pros. May your next book flow and soon come our way. Bravo!
Profile Image for Beth.
Author 1 book11 followers
January 21, 2018
I'm only about 20% of the way through this book, but already I can say that I love it! There are a few passages that I have underlined and shared with my husband. It's like wisdom coming from a sage. I can't wait to dig further into this book!
Profile Image for Ashley Maxfield.
20 reviews1 follower
April 9, 2018
Loved it! I tagged the author in my Instagram post and he responded and we chatted for a few minutes, which made my day. I also had to tell my husband everything I read and tried to talk him into traveling
Profile Image for Gwen Umphress.
12 reviews
July 27, 2020
I loved this book! I loved being able to live vicariously through Ashley and Kyle. I felt like I was part of their journey and couldn’t wait to see what each city had in store. I appreciated the honesty of their traveling quarrels and that Kyle recognized and explained the reasoning. It would have been interesting to have commentary from Ashley lol Thank you Kyle and Ash for letting me travel along on your adventure!
Profile Image for Dave.
Author 3 books32 followers
August 9, 2017
This book has rekindled the desire to see the world I had twenty years ago and somehow lost over time. Thank you, Kyle. This was great.
Profile Image for Ashley.
5 reviews1 follower
Read
September 14, 2018
Amazing travel diary! Really motivated me to travel more and explore the world. 100% would recommend
1 review
April 30, 2021
I've never been that good at reading, but my homies read this jump off to me and this shit is straight flame!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Krista.
7 reviews
Read
August 31, 2018
Extremely entertaining and adventurous story about traveling across the world for 114 days.
If you love to read about amazing far away places experienced on a budget.... you will love this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews

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