The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Lost: A Memoir of Three Continents, Two Friends, and One Unexpected Adventure
Rachel Friedman (2011)

THE A5 BOOK REVIEW

The Good Girls’ Guide to Getting Lost is a modern coming-of-age memoir by Rachel Friedman, recounting her out-of-character decision after college to go travel around the world.  Friedman has always been the “good girl” who played it safe, so her hastily concocted plan to blow her savings on a flight to Ireland was unfamiliar and unexpected.  There she meets an adventurous Australian girl who inspires her to keep traveling, eventually on what would extend to become a full year journey to explore Australia and South America.  The writing style isn't deep; this is a story told from the point of view of a sheltered but very self-aware American twenty-year-old.  It is though a cute and candid book about growing up, the passion of exploration, the importance of living for the moment, and the power of travel to teach one about one’s true self. 
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A5 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THOSE WHO LIKED THIS BOOK

GREAT QUOTES:

“Before, some places just seemed too far, too difficult to reach, but once you start traveling, you never want to stop. You want to hear other people's stories, see where they live, eat their food. You realize--and of course it's a cliche, but like many cliches, it's true--the way we are all interconnected.” 
- Rachel Friedman, The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Lost

“What happens when we lose the things that anchor us? What if, instead of grasping at something to hold on to, we pull up our roots and walk away? Instead of trying to find the way back, we walk deeper and deeper into the woods, willing ourselves to get lost. In this place where nothing is recognizable. not the people or the language or the food, we are truly on our own. Eventually, we find ourselves unencumbered by the past or the future. Here is a fleeting glimpse of our truest self, our self in the present moment.” 
- Rachel Friedman, The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Lost

INTERESTING LINKS:

  • Travel Belles is a quality blog that focuses on travel for women, and we like their review on The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Lost.  Click here to read it.
  • Also check out this interview on Worldhum with Rachel Friedman where she opens up about letting go, female friendship, and her current relationship to music.
  • Or finally, click here to find out more about the author at her own website.