Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World

Newly divorced and disillusioned with her suburban life, Rita Goldman Geller sets off to live out the forgotten dreams of her youth. Her homestay with indigenous Mexican tribespeople and 7 years with the Indonesian royal family are enviable adventures, but at times Gellar seems inexcusably juvenile and naive - especially in her first experiences with sex and drugs on the road. Worth reading, but don't expect it to blow your mind.

In the midst of the decadent 1980's the author's 24-year marriage was crumbling.Realizing that she had only ever lived a life defined by her husband and by the things they'd accrued that allowed them to live comfortably, the author abandoned her glamorous L.A. lifestyle to follow her own adventurous spirit. For many years she lived a nomadic existence, sharing huts and palaces, but, more importantly, the lives of others from around the globe, from a Zapotec village in Mexico, to a faded kingdom in Indonesia, from Ecuador to Papua New Guinea.I loved this book! It isn't just about exploring thre world. It's about resiliency, conquering one's fears, and being open to new experiences. Perhaps what I loved most was that while she took something from each experience, she also seemed to leave something of herself behind.

Rita Golden Gelman, on the cusp of a divorce from her husband in 1986, decides to pursue her unfulfilled dreams of world travel. She ventures off, alone, with the goal of traveling and immersing herself fully into the cultures & languages of several different locations throughout the world, including remote and not-so-remote locations in Mexico, Guatemala, Israel, the Galapagos Islands, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Thailand. This was a fairly enjoyable travel memoir. Unlike many other travel memoirs, in most of her travel locations, the author really did make an effort to become part of the community & culture of the area. She did enjoy the luxury of coming from a previous well-to-do lifestyle, or at least one comfortable enough to allow her to travel for many years (including back & forth to the U.S. in order to visit family) without an ongoing income (though she was earning somewhat regularly on royalties from previously-published children's books). Her very outgoing, and occasionally pushy, personality, as well as frequent bouts of "good luck" also worked to her benefit in order to allow her some experiences that a typical traveler probably wouldn't have. I started this one out on audio, read by the author, but I found her voice somewhat annoying for some reason. I enjoyed the book more after switching to the actual written format, which I would recommend.

Ms. Gelman's travel stories are more than travel stories. They describe the lifestyle of a person with a true zest for life and living. I found the stories to be interesting, particularly the manner in which the author crossed over from visitor to resident in each location. I have no yearning to wander, but I share the love of people and admire the trusting nature which allowed her to pursue her dreams. I did find myself wondering about the trusting souls who did not fare as well as she did in their journeys into the unknown. Very good book.

I really loved this travel memoir of a woman of a certain age who decided to spend the rest of her life travelling and carrying with her only what she could fit into her luggage.

The year is 1986 and Rita Gelman and her husband are on the cusp of divorce, just as her last child leaves for college. Rita takes a trip to Mexico to find herself, and essentially, never comes back. Rita's passion for living in other cultures is awakened and she begins traveling from country to country, living minimally, and relying on new social connections she makes along the way. In most countries, Rita stays just long enough to develop friends and connections. Once the native people have finally embraced her as "family" Rita moves on to the next adventure. Rita's goals seem to be writing and publishing just enough that she can maintain her nomadic lifestyle and becoming accepted by the native people in each culture despite the odds, including her own lack of preparation. This was an interesting book about different countries, their cultures, and social rules, however, something about Ms. Gelman's approach to her lifestyle rubbed me the wrong way. While I understood the basic anthropological principal about not altering the culture you are observing, I felt she tended to use this idea to her benefit to justify her avoidance to contribute or make positive changes in the cultures she visited. It was particularly hard reading about the children who were starving with distended bellies and her rationalization that she could give them money to feed the children but it wouldn't help the family in the long run. Her desire to live minimalistically and with people who allowed her to stay with them with only minimal (if any) compensation seemed opportunistic and at worst, parasitic. While I enjoyed learning about the people, I was not as big a fan of the author's traveling methods. I also felt sorry for her kids, who basically lost their mother to the world, just when they were starting to branch out as young adults.