Don't Try This at Home: One Family's (mis)Adventures Around the World

by Daria Salamon, Rob Krause

Rob Krause and Daria Salamon sold their car, rented out their Winnipeg home, and packed up their two young children to embark on a 12-month journey around the world. In this dual retelling of their ambitious year abroad, Don’t Try This at Home chronicles the hilarious and sensational misadventures of a Canadian family as they travel across 15 different countries in the Southern Hemisphere. In an honest reflection on parenting, marriage, and living for a year on a tight budget, Krause and Salamon take readers through some of the world’s most stunning vistas while meeting the challenges of foreign customs, broken-down buses, stomach bugs, personal loss, and their often less-than-enthusiastic children.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Humor, Canada

277 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 18, 2019

About the author

Author of The Prairie Bridesmaid and launching Don't Try This At Home: One Family's (mis)Adventures Abroad in May, 2019

Reviews

[Katie]

I loved this book! Rob and Daria each have a strong presence and distinct voice, but you can see how they’re complementary and equally hilarious in their tones. I never felt bored by the tales and actually appreciated when they referenced the same experience. Where one writer would give you context, the other would be pure entertainment. Both Rob and Daria shared this duty, and no side was more factual, entertaining, or narrative than the other. It was a delight to read both sides with the feeling of companionship taking precedence with not a speck of competition.

In terms of the book’s structure itself:
Both authors wrote with different timelines and geographic focus which sounds like it should be incredibly confusing, but somehow worked amazingly. I never wondered “where are we in this trip?”, as the focus wasn’t on a chronological exploration, but on the experience as a whole being punctuated by specific moments in their travels. It kept each side of the book moving and my attention was held unlike most other travel memoirs that would be a semi-descriptive, bloated-ego, manufactured checklist written by *those people in the Amazon*. Rob’s statement, “life engages you” is probably the best singular passage to describe the goal (intended or not) of this adventure and thus the writing itself.

This book equally terrified me away from all future travel but simultaneously inspired me to make rash plane ticket purchases. I guess that’s pretty indicative of the book itself - two different perspectives on the same events, places, and ideas.

[Bronwyn Findlay]

This story is more than a year spent traveling around the world. It’s a reminder that you can break free of what’s expected and go on an epic adventure. Daria and Rob make you feel it’s possible to do the big scary things - like selling your car and renting out your home to travel for a year. They are both honest and hilarious in their duel retelling of their travels.

As you read, you will laugh out loud, wish you could have ran into them while on the road, and think “Well, if they can travel with kids maybe I can too.” Although Rob probably wouldn’t want you to use the book as parenting advice.

Overall, Rob and Daria remind us that it’s okay for a trip to go off the rails a bit. Maybe you accidentally give your kid a raddler or inadvertently teach them to lie or lose one in Thailand. You don’t need your plans to go perfectly for the experience to be amazing.

[Jacquie]

I would love to rate this book higher. I give them 5 stars for even contemplating and then going on to successfully execute the trip with children in tow! However, I just didn’t enjoy the writing style. It read like a really long self deprecating blog post....which got really really old. I just wanted to hear the story of the trip, how they managed and what they learned along the way. Instead they gave me sarcastic take on events after sarcastic take, which is funny, but only the first time.

I really enjoyed Daria’s last two chapters as she broke from this style and that brought the book up to 2 stars for me.

Again, amazing journey, sound like great people, just not the style or information I had hoped for.

[Cheryl]

This is hard to rate because it is an unique book. Half of it is done by the Mom and the other (flipped!) side was done by the Dad. The story is about traveling around the world with their 2 kids. I loved Daria's story. I read hers first and it was funny, engaging and moving. (only having so much time to live your life, how privileged we are to live here, the social aspect of why we have to CONSUME so much and more) 5 stars! His, on the other hand, was an attempt to be funny by putting down his wife and kids. How she drank too much and didn't plan and how his kids - especially his daughter was a nightmare to be around. It felt like he was coerced into travelling and this was his way of talking back. Not a good feel and uncomfortable to read. I wish she had just written the complete book by herself.

[JessicaAMD]

I liked that no matter how you try to control a situation.. there’s only so much you can do. Reading this made me realize to just.. chill.. you can’t have control over every little thing you do in your life.

[Lucas K]

Okay. I'm biased. I come from the same town as the authors.

But that aside, the writing style of both authors was just up my alley. In the vein of Bill Bryson and with a hint of of Monty Python-esque sense of black humor, these 4 individuals spent a year (cumulatively) abroad traveling, schooling, and living (really living) together. It should be mandatory reading for all "privileged" parents, as should a year off, selling everything and hitting the road with kids in tow. Okay, maybe not so much during a pandemic, but you get my gist.

There is no better way of learning where you truly stand in life, than opening the door to the world by traveling and finding out. And no better way of doing it, than as a family.

Highly recommended.

[Janice Forman]

Rob and Daria, Canadians from Winnipeg, relate their year-long adventure of travelling around the world with their eight year-old son and five year-old daughter. Through their recounting, each taking their turn to relate the ups and downs of their travels, the reader can envision embarking on a similar adventure.

Rob and Daria sold their car, rented out their home, and basically took a year’s sabbatical from their jobs travelling as light as possible, staying in hostels, camping in a tent, and sometimes splurging on a hotel. Their adventures are told with humour and often reveal their less than stellar parenting techniques.

Fun read!

[Cheryl]

This is an unusual book in that one half is written by the husband/father, and you flip the book over and the other half is written by the wife/mother. I read their accounts alternately, and really enjoyed the experience. Rob’s writing made me laugh out loud many, many times. Some of the situations were typical of any parenting experience, some of the situations were things you would never experience in Canada! Highly recommend.

[Lorna]

Great read! Not a travel guide, how to book or even a chronological review of their trip. But a great reflection of the highs and lows of travelling, especially with kids. They made it seem crazy and doable. Made me both want to have a grand adventure like this and not want too, all at the same time.

[Robin]

I really enjoyed this book like completely overall. It was funny and it made me nostalgic and it made me excited for these kinds of experiences again.
Somewhat disclaimer?¿ I don’t have kids I’m planning to travel with so I don’t know if I can say anything about that but also I think this is still a great book even if you are interested in these areas and travelling and you don’t have kids.

[Lypenner]

This book was entertainingly written, and clever to write it from two perspectives. Many of the vignettes became memorable for me, especially the reflections from the husband when his father died. I passed it on to my neighbour Edna who LOVED it. I originally bought this book from Daria who was selling them at the local farmer's market.

[Samantha]

This book was divided into two sections. The first section was written by the wife and the second one by the husband. Both perspectives were told in thier unique perspectives, however I enjoyed reading the narrative by the wife more because it flowed more in a straght forward way.

[Niki]

Don't Try This At Home is an entertaining peak into a family's year-long travel adventure; I enjoyed the his/her perspective.

[Marco]

I liked Daria’s side better than Rob’s. Definitely a very crazy family

[Daniel Peri]

This book made my husband and I decide to take a gap year. Covid ruined it, however the antics of Daria, Rob and family and hilarious and timeless.

[Tracey Hewett]

This was a very interesting and at times funny book. I would have liked to read some in depth stories about their travels though.

[Shannon D]

As a travel enthusiast and as a parent, I loved it. I liked how each of them, Daria and Rob, wrote separate halves of the book. Each has a different writing style, which gave different perspectives and interpretations on their experiences and adventures. I read Rob's half first, which was witty, relatable (as a parent to young kids) and made me laugh out loud more than once. However, I found his storytelling lacked a bit of depth. Daria's half more than made up for that and I'm glad I ended on that note. I appreciated her candidness and vulnerability, especially the latter chapters. Together, great read. I'm envious of their family's year abroad.