Wide-Open World: How Volunteering Around the Globe Changed One Family's Lives Forever by John Marshall (Book Review)

Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.

About the book-

For readers of Three Cups of Tea; Eat, Pray, Love; and Wild comes the inspiring story of an ordinary American family that embarks on an extraordinary journey. Wide-Open World follows the Marshall family as they volunteer their way around the globe, living in a monkey sanctuary in Costa Rica, teaching English in rural Thailand, and caring for orphans in India. There's a name for this kind of endeavor - €”voluntourism - and it might just be the future of travel.

Oppressive heat, grueling bus rides, backbreaking work, and one vicious spider monkey . . . Best family vacation ever!

John Marshall needed a change. His twenty-year marriage was falling apart, his seventeen-year-old son was about to leave home, and his fourteen-year-old daughter was lost in cyberspace. Desperate to get out of a rut and reconnect with his family, John dreamed of a trip around the world, a chance to leave behind, if only just for a while, routines and responsibilities. He didn'€™t have the money for resorts or luxury tours, but he did have an idea that would make traveling the globe more affordable and more meaningful than he'd ever imagined: The family would volunteer their time and energy to others in far-flung locales.

Wide-Open World is the inspiring true story of the six months that changed the Marshall family forever. Once they’d made the pivotal decision to go, John and his wife, Traca, quit their jobs, pulled their kids out of school, and embarked on a journey that would take them far off the beaten path, and far out of their comfort zones.

Here is the totally engaging, bluntly honest chronicle of the Marshalls'€™ life-altering adventure from Central America to East Asia. It was no fairy tale. The trip offered little rest, Even less relaxation, and virtually no certainty of what was to come. But it did give the Marshalls something far more valuable: a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to conquer personal fears, strengthen family bonds, and find their true selves by helping those in need. In the end, as John discovered, he and his family did not change the world. It was the world that changed them.

My thoughts-

I have always had a desire to both travel and to help other people. As a teen I dreamed of being a missionary, taking care of orphaned children in Romania, joining the Peace Corps. I never had the courage to do any of them. Don't get me wrong, I do what I can from my home, but I think the desire to help in other corners of the world will always be there and maybe some day I will get to explore that a little, but for now I was delighted to live vicariously through the Marshall clean while reading Wide-Open World. Their time of service around the world led them to interesting places and showed them how there is a need for help (in so many varied ways) pretty much everywhere around the globe. The book takes us through their journey as they live and volunteer at an animal sanctuary where they became close with some primates, they worked at an orphanage in India (I suspect this was the hardest place for them to leave, having forged close relationships with many of the children), they taught English in Thailand and visited and served in so many other places. They learned things about themselves as a family and things about themselves as individuals and were changed forever because of it. It was fascinating to me to take a peek into the lives of people in different parts of the world, how things operated differently in each place. Not only did this trip give the Marshalls the opportunity to do good, it would set the course for where each of  their lives would go upon their return home...but I will let you read the book to find out just what that was! I absolutely recommend this book to anyone at all, I think we can all learn from this type of memoir, but I particularly recommend it to people who want to good, who love to travel, who enjoy adventure and who enjoy reading non-fiction. This is the type of book that I hope will become a movie someday. I would love to see the Marshalls' adventures come to life on the big screen!

Wide-Open World will be available on February 10. You can pre-order it on Amazon.com

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Escape Monthly July/India box review

There is probably nothing I love more than traveling when I can. I think it is so much fun to explore new places and explore new cultures. I do not get to travel as often as I would like or go to all of the places on my travel bucket list, so when I heard about Escape Monthly I was ecstatic! Escape Monthly is a subscription box. Each month they pick a new destination, gather cool items from the destination, jam pack a box with said items and ship them to your doorstep. The coolest thing about it is that each month, one lucky subscriber wins a trip to wherever the destination is! Past escapes have included: Napa Valley, Las Vegas, Hawaii, Colorado and Ireland. July's escape was to India and so far it was my favorite!

There were tons of great items in the India box. In addition to the travel book about the Taj Mahal and surrounding areas, my absolute favorite thing included was a bottle of Amber perfume oil. It smells fantastic. I have been wearing it daily.  There was a small bottle of gee included which I promptly used to enhance the rice I was cooking in the rice cooker that night. You know if the family eats all of their brown rice (at least in my white rice loving house) that whatever was used to cook it must have been some good stuff! Madras curry and Korma curry were also in the box. I used the Korma for some chicken the same night as I used the ghee. It was okay as far as taste goes (Indian food is supposed to have a bit of spice kick to it, and this korma fell short in that department), but I was glad to see that Saffron Road (the company that makes it) is GMO free. That is enough to prompt me to buy it again and add my own spices and to try other Saffron Road products. Another really cool thing included in this box was the Masala Pop Chai Masala Popcorn. It is a unique twist on popcorn with authentic Indian flavors. The cardamom gave it a wonderful taste. The kids and I absolutely loved it. As with every Escape Monthly box, there were a couple of bath and body products included. There was a sample of Banyan Botanical's Neem & Aloe soap and Healthy Hair Oil from the same company. I am really excited to use the hair oil because I know it will make hair look shinier and healthier. Last but not least, for a bonus item Escape Monthly through in some cute Bindi decals for the forehead. These are a tradition in India said to represent one's wisdom. They also look really cute! Although it had nothing to do with India and wasn't listed in the brochure as one of the items, they also through in a Juice Beauty hand cream! It was a nice extra bonus!

There wasn't a thing in this box that I didn't like. That makes me even more excited for next month's escape. THE ONE I have been waiting for- PARIS!! If you are not already receiving these boxes, this is the month to sign up! Boxes will ship mid-month and I will be counting down the days and crossing my fingers to be the lucky one to win the trip to Paris! If you are a new member, you can get 20% off of your subscription by entering the code PARISESCAPE at checkout!

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Veil of Tears Documentary Review + Giveaway

I received a copy of the movie via Edify Media in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

About the documentary-

"Veil of Tears" is a documentary film that tells the untold story of millions of women in India who are culturally persecuted for no other reason than the fact that they are women. However, despite the centuries of oppression, there are those who are reaching out and trying to change the culture towards women, from the inside out. Filmed across of the stunning nation of India, in some of the most remote tribal villages in the world today, this is a journey where few outsiders have gone before.

My thoughts-

I am a big fan of documentaries, especially the ones that bring to light social issues that really need our attention. I knew that women in the middle east definitely deal with oppression, but I didn't recognize the dangerous extent to which it is taken. "Veil of Tears" brings to light just how dire the situation for women in India is, from birth all of the way to their elderly years. It is sad to know that anyone could be treated with such disregard, especially for no other reason than being born a woman. The bulk of the movie is interviews with different people who live India about this terrible issue. These stories and images and the sheer thought of some of these things still happening in this day and age is sorrowful and angering. Toward the end of the documentary, there was some information on what is  being done by a wonderful organization called Gospel for Asia that gives me hope for the women of India. There is information on the GFA website about the several ways you can get involved to help this mission. "Veil of Tears" is an important film to watch. It is not easy to get through at times, but these women need us. 

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