BIOGRAPHY

Braver Than You Think: Around the World on the Trip of My (Mother’s) Lifetime

by Maggie Downs
Counterpoint. May 2020. 304p. ISBN 9781640092921. $26. MEMOIR
COPY ISBN
When travel writer Downs’s mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, the author vowed to travel the world to see the places her mother always wanted to visit. Her travels bring her to a monkey sanctuary in Bolivia, a circumcision ritual in Uganda, and a yoga camp on the Sinai Peninsula. While her mother’s health grew progressively worse back home, Downs reflected on her mother’s life while visiting places many Westerners would claim are unsafe for a solo female traveler. She takes the trip not only to assert her independence but to honor her mother, who told her she is “braver than you think.”
VERDICT Part travelog, part grief memoir, this is for readers who want to experience the thrill of solo travel as experienced by someone slowly losing a parent. 
Reviewed by Erin Shea, Ferguson Lib., CT , Apr 01, 2020
Comment Policy:
  • Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  • Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
  • If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.

RELATED 

NONFICTION

A Good Bad Boy: Luke Perry and How a Generation Grew Up
by Wappler, Margaret
NONFICTION

American Diva: Extraordinary, Unruly, Fabulous
by Paredez, Deborah
MEDIA

MeatEater’s American History: The Long Hunters (1761–1775)
by Rinella, Steven & Clay Newcomb
MEDIA

Tupac Shakur: The Authorized Biography
by Robinson, Staci
NONFICTION

Small Acts of Courage: A Legacy of Endurance and the Fight for Democracy
by Velshi, Ali
NONFICTION

Leonard Cohen: The Man Who Saw the Angels Fall
by Lebold, Christophe
More
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?