Travel Memoirs That Aren’t by the Usual White Dudes

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Steph Auteri is simply a writer who has written for the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Pacific Standard, VICE, and elsewhere. Her much originative enactment has appeared successful Creative Nonfiction, nether the gum tree, Poets & Writers, and different publications, and she is the Essays Editor for Hippocampus Magazine. Her essay, "The Fear That Lives Next to My Heart," published successful Southwest Review, was listed arsenic a Notable Essay successful Best American Essays 2021. She besides writes bookish worldly present and astatine the Feminist Book Club, is the writer of A Dirty Word, and is the laminitis of Guerrilla Sex Ed. When not working, she enjoys yoga, embroidery, singing, feline snuggling, and staring astatine the birds successful her backyard feeder. You tin larn much astatine stephauteri.com and travel her connected Insta/Threads astatine @stephauteri.

View All posts by Steph Auteri

Steph Auteri is simply a writer who has written for the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Pacific Standard, VICE, and elsewhere. Her much originative enactment has appeared successful Creative Nonfiction, nether the gum tree, Poets & Writers, and different publications, and she is the Essays Editor for Hippocampus Magazine. Her essay, "The Fear That Lives Next to My Heart," published successful Southwest Review, was listed arsenic a Notable Essay successful Best American Essays 2021. She besides writes bookish worldly present and astatine the Feminist Book Club, is the writer of A Dirty Word, and is the laminitis of Guerrilla Sex Ed. When not working, she enjoys yoga, embroidery, singing, feline snuggling, and staring astatine the birds successful her backyard feeder. You tin larn much astatine stephauteri.com and travel her connected Insta/Threads astatine @stephauteri.

View All posts by Steph Auteri

Steph Auteri is simply a writer who has written for the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Pacific Standard, VICE, and elsewhere. Her much originative enactment has appeared successful Creative Nonfiction, nether the gum tree, Poets & Writers, and different publications, and she is the Essays Editor for Hippocampus Magazine. Her essay, "The Fear That Lives Next to My Heart," published successful Southwest Review, was listed arsenic a Notable Essay successful Best American Essays 2021. She besides writes bookish worldly present and astatine the Feminist Book Club, is the writer of A Dirty Word, and is the laminitis of Guerrilla Sex Ed. When not working, she enjoys yoga, embroidery, singing, feline snuggling, and staring astatine the birds successful her backyard feeder. You tin larn much astatine stephauteri.com and travel her connected Insta/Threads astatine @stephauteri.

View All posts by Steph Auteri

Steph Auteri is simply a writer who has written for the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Pacific Standard, VICE, and elsewhere. Her much originative enactment has appeared successful Creative Nonfiction, nether the gum tree, Poets & Writers, and different publications, and she is the Essays Editor for Hippocampus Magazine. Her essay, "The Fear That Lives Next to My Heart," published successful Southwest Review, was listed arsenic a Notable Essay successful Best American Essays 2021. She besides writes bookish worldly present and astatine the Feminist Book Club, is the writer of A Dirty Word, and is the laminitis of Guerrilla Sex Ed. When not working, she enjoys yoga, embroidery, singing, feline snuggling, and staring astatine the birds successful her backyard feeder. You tin larn much astatine stephauteri.com and travel her connected Insta/Threads astatine @stephauteri.

View All posts by Steph Auteri

Steph Auteri is simply a writer who has written for the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Pacific Standard, VICE, and elsewhere. Her much originative enactment has appeared successful Creative Nonfiction, nether the gum tree, Poets & Writers, and different publications, and she is the Essays Editor for Hippocampus Magazine. Her essay, "The Fear That Lives Next to My Heart," published successful Southwest Review, was listed arsenic a Notable Essay successful Best American Essays 2021. She besides writes bookish worldly present and astatine the Feminist Book Club, is the writer of A Dirty Word, and is the laminitis of Guerrilla Sex Ed. When not working, she enjoys yoga, embroidery, singing, feline snuggling, and staring astatine the birds successful her backyard feeder. You tin larn much astatine stephauteri.com and travel her connected Insta/Threads astatine @stephauteri.

View All posts by Steph Auteri

Steph Auteri is simply a writer who has written for the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Pacific Standard, VICE, and elsewhere. Her much originative enactment has appeared successful Creative Nonfiction, nether the gum tree, Poets & Writers, and different publications, and she is the Essays Editor for Hippocampus Magazine. Her essay, "The Fear That Lives Next to My Heart," published successful Southwest Review, was listed arsenic a Notable Essay successful Best American Essays 2021. She besides writes bookish worldly present and astatine the Feminist Book Club, is the writer of A Dirty Word, and is the laminitis of Guerrilla Sex Ed. When not working, she enjoys yoga, embroidery, singing, feline snuggling, and staring astatine the birds successful her backyard feeder. You tin larn much astatine stephauteri.com and travel her connected Insta/Threads astatine @stephauteri.

View All posts by Steph Auteri

Steph Auteri is simply a writer who has written for the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Pacific Standard, VICE, and elsewhere. Her much originative enactment has appeared successful Creative Nonfiction, nether the gum tree, Poets & Writers, and different publications, and she is the Essays Editor for Hippocampus Magazine. Her essay, "The Fear That Lives Next to My Heart," published successful Southwest Review, was listed arsenic a Notable Essay successful Best American Essays 2021. She besides writes bookish worldly present and astatine the Feminist Book Club, is the writer of A Dirty Word, and is the laminitis of Guerrilla Sex Ed. When not working, she enjoys yoga, embroidery, singing, feline snuggling, and staring astatine the birds successful her backyard feeder. You tin larn much astatine stephauteri.com and travel her connected Insta/Threads astatine @stephauteri.

View All posts by Steph Auteri

Steph Auteri is simply a writer who has written for the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Pacific Standard, VICE, and elsewhere. Her much originative enactment has appeared successful Creative Nonfiction, nether the gum tree, Poets & Writers, and different publications, and she is the Essays Editor for Hippocampus Magazine. Her essay, "The Fear That Lives Next to My Heart," published successful Southwest Review, was listed arsenic a Notable Essay successful Best American Essays 2021. She besides writes bookish worldly present and astatine the Feminist Book Club, is the writer of A Dirty Word, and is the laminitis of Guerrilla Sex Ed. When not working, she enjoys yoga, embroidery, singing, feline snuggling, and staring astatine the birds successful her backyard feeder. You tin larn much astatine stephauteri.com and travel her connected Insta/Threads astatine @stephauteri.

View All posts by Steph Auteri

Steph Auteri is simply a writer who has written for the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Pacific Standard, VICE, and elsewhere. Her much originative enactment has appeared successful Creative Nonfiction, nether the gum tree, Poets & Writers, and different publications, and she is the Essays Editor for Hippocampus Magazine. Her essay, "The Fear That Lives Next to My Heart," published successful Southwest Review, was listed arsenic a Notable Essay successful Best American Essays 2021. She besides writes bookish worldly present and astatine the Feminist Book Club, is the writer of A Dirty Word, and is the laminitis of Guerrilla Sex Ed. When not working, she enjoys yoga, embroidery, singing, feline snuggling, and staring astatine the birds successful her backyard feeder. You tin larn much astatine stephauteri.com and travel her connected Insta/Threads astatine @stephauteri.

View All posts by Steph Auteri

Steph Auteri is simply a writer who has written for the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Pacific Standard, VICE, and elsewhere. Her much originative enactment has appeared successful Creative Nonfiction, nether the gum tree, Poets & Writers, and different publications, and she is the Essays Editor for Hippocampus Magazine. Her essay, "The Fear That Lives Next to My Heart," published successful Southwest Review, was listed arsenic a Notable Essay successful Best American Essays 2021. She besides writes bookish worldly present and astatine the Feminist Book Club, is the writer of A Dirty Word, and is the laminitis of Guerrilla Sex Ed. When not working, she enjoys yoga, embroidery, singing, feline snuggling, and staring astatine the birds successful her backyard feeder. You tin larn much astatine stephauteri.com and travel her connected Insta/Threads astatine @stephauteri.

View All posts by Steph Auteri

Steph Auteri is simply a writer who has written for the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Pacific Standard, VICE, and elsewhere. Her much originative enactment has appeared successful Creative Nonfiction, nether the gum tree, Poets & Writers, and different publications, and she is the Essays Editor for Hippocampus Magazine. Her essay, "The Fear That Lives Next to My Heart," published successful Southwest Review, was listed arsenic a Notable Essay successful Best American Essays 2021. She besides writes bookish worldly present and astatine the Feminist Book Club, is the writer of A Dirty Word, and is the laminitis of Guerrilla Sex Ed. When not working, she enjoys yoga, embroidery, singing, feline snuggling, and staring astatine the birds successful her backyard feeder. You tin larn much astatine stephauteri.com and travel her connected Insta/Threads astatine @stephauteri.

View All posts by Steph Auteri

Steph Auteri is simply a writer who has written for the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Pacific Standard, VICE, and elsewhere. Her much originative enactment has appeared successful Creative Nonfiction, nether the gum tree, Poets & Writers, and different publications, and she is the Essays Editor for Hippocampus Magazine. Her essay, "The Fear That Lives Next to My Heart," published successful Southwest Review, was listed arsenic a Notable Essay successful Best American Essays 2021. She besides writes bookish worldly present and astatine the Feminist Book Club, is the writer of A Dirty Word, and is the laminitis of Guerrilla Sex Ed. When not working, she enjoys yoga, embroidery, singing, feline snuggling, and staring astatine the birds successful her backyard feeder. You tin larn much astatine stephauteri.com and travel her connected Insta/Threads astatine @stephauteri.

View All posts by Steph Auteri

Steph Auteri is simply a writer who has written for the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Pacific Standard, VICE, and elsewhere. Her much originative enactment has appeared successful Creative Nonfiction, nether the gum tree, Poets & Writers, and different publications, and she is the Essays Editor for Hippocampus Magazine. Her essay, "The Fear That Lives Next to My Heart," published successful Southwest Review, was listed arsenic a Notable Essay successful Best American Essays 2021. She besides writes bookish worldly present and astatine the Feminist Book Club, is the writer of A Dirty Word, and is the laminitis of Guerrilla Sex Ed. When not working, she enjoys yoga, embroidery, singing, feline snuggling, and staring astatine the birds successful her backyard feeder. You tin larn much astatine stephauteri.com and travel her connected Insta/Threads astatine @stephauteri.

View All posts by Steph Auteri

Steph Auteri is simply a writer who has written for the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Pacific Standard, VICE, and elsewhere. Her much originative enactment has appeared successful Creative Nonfiction, nether the gum tree, Poets & Writers, and different publications, and she is the Essays Editor for Hippocampus Magazine. Her essay, "The Fear That Lives Next to My Heart," published successful Southwest Review, was listed arsenic a Notable Essay successful Best American Essays 2021. She besides writes bookish worldly present and astatine the Feminist Book Club, is the writer of A Dirty Word, and is the laminitis of Guerrilla Sex Ed. When not working, she enjoys yoga, embroidery, singing, feline snuggling, and staring astatine the birds successful her backyard feeder. You tin larn much astatine stephauteri.com and travel her connected Insta/Threads astatine @stephauteri.

View All posts by Steph Auteri

Steph Auteri is simply a writer who has written for the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Pacific Standard, VICE, and elsewhere. Her much originative enactment has appeared successful Creative Nonfiction, nether the gum tree, Poets & Writers, and different publications, and she is the Essays Editor for Hippocampus Magazine. Her essay, "The Fear That Lives Next to My Heart," published successful Southwest Review, was listed arsenic a Notable Essay successful Best American Essays 2021. She besides writes bookish worldly present and astatine the Feminist Book Club, is the writer of A Dirty Word, and is the laminitis of Guerrilla Sex Ed. When not working, she enjoys yoga, embroidery, singing, feline snuggling, and staring astatine the birds successful her backyard feeder. You tin larn much astatine stephauteri.com and travel her connected Insta/Threads astatine @stephauteri.

View All posts by Steph Auteri

Steph Auteri is simply a writer who has written for the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Pacific Standard, VICE, and elsewhere. Her much originative enactment has appeared successful Creative Nonfiction, nether the gum tree, Poets & Writers, and different publications, and she is the Essays Editor for Hippocampus Magazine. Her essay, "The Fear That Lives Next to My Heart," published successful Southwest Review, was listed arsenic a Notable Essay successful Best American Essays 2021. She besides writes bookish worldly present and astatine the Feminist Book Club, is the writer of A Dirty Word, and is the laminitis of Guerrilla Sex Ed. When not working, she enjoys yoga, embroidery, singing, feline snuggling, and staring astatine the birds successful her backyard feeder. You tin larn much astatine stephauteri.com and travel her connected Insta/Threads astatine @stephauteri.

View All posts by Steph Auteri

Steph Auteri is simply a writer who has written for the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Pacific Standard, VICE, and elsewhere. Her much originative enactment has appeared successful Creative Nonfiction, nether the gum tree, Poets & Writers, and different publications, and she is the Essays Editor for Hippocampus Magazine. Her essay, "The Fear That Lives Next to My Heart," published successful Southwest Review, was listed arsenic a Notable Essay successful Best American Essays 2021. She besides writes bookish worldly present and astatine the Feminist Book Club, is the writer of A Dirty Word, and is the laminitis of Guerrilla Sex Ed. When not working, she enjoys yoga, embroidery, singing, feline snuggling, and staring astatine the birds successful her backyard feeder. You tin larn much astatine stephauteri.com and travel her connected Insta/Threads astatine @stephauteri.

View All posts by Steph Auteri

I’ve ever been a homebody — present much than ever — yet I’ve agelong enjoyed question narratives. When I was successful my 20s, I devoured each the Bill Bryson books, delighting successful their premix of wit and their mean levels of adventure. I revered On the Road, daydreaming astir state and cross-country travel. I LOVED the enactment of Jon Krakauer, which featured outdoorsmen who seemed acold braver than I. As a shy introvert with generalized anxiousness disorder, determination was thing I wanted much than to beryllium brave. To not fto my fears clasp maine back.

But that was an intolerable dream, and truthful I work astir folks who embodied the idiosyncratic I could ne'er be.

There was conscionable 1 problem. Aside from the occasional achromatic pistillate with the clip and wealth to wantonness her beingness for immense swaths of clip (a antithetic benignant of privation fulfillment), each of the question books I work seemed to beryllium written by achromatic dudes.

Where were the question memoirs from each the anxious young women who had nary wealth and couldn’t permission their jobs for longer than a time oregon two?

(I mean, I conjecture those women weren’t truly traveling. But still.)

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The different month, I work Blythe Roberson’s America the Beautiful?, a question memoir that follows the author’s cross-country roadworthy travel to America’s nationalist parks, and that purports to observe wherefore the genre seems monopolized by “white men who person nary problems, who lone determine to spell to the godforsaken to spot what having problems feels like.” Roberson’s publication work similar Bill Bryson for women…but better.

Which made maine wonderment what other was retired determination that I’d been missing.

cover of America the Beautiful? by Blythe Roberson

America the Beautiful? by Blythe Roberson

We’ll get this 1 retired of the way, arsenic it was the publication that inspired maine to constitute this post. Not lone is Roberson a maestro of humorous question writing, but her question communicative goes acold beyond an accounting of her travels. In each section of this book, arsenic she makes her mode further on connected her journey, she tackles a antithetic topic: whether solo question is excessively unsafe for women and BIPOC, the morals of nationalist parks connected onshore that erstwhile belonged to Indigenous folks, the mode societal media has made it intolerable to conscionable be successful a moment…Despite the airy tone, Roberson digs deep, making for a peculiarly enjoyable and satisfying read.

Cover of The White Mosque

The White Mosque by Sofia Samatar

In gorgeous, lyrical prose, Samatar writes of a circuit she took that followed successful the footsteps of a radical of German-speaking Mennonites who traveled from Russia into Central Asia successful the precocious 19th century, yet establishing a tiny Christian colony successful the midst of a Muslim khanate. In delving into the past of this journey, and those who were involved, Samatar besides interrogates the quality of individuality and self.

book screen  for Around the Bloc by Stephanie Elizondo Griest

Around the Bloc by Stephanie Elizondo Griest

Griest was hopeless to flight her southbound Texas hometown, truthful she pursued journalism successful the hopes of yet becoming a overseas correspondent. In work of this, she spent 4 years traveling everyplace from Moscow to Beijing to Havana and elsewhere successful an effort to carnivore witnesser to the effects of Communism. Through her varied experiences (related successful humorous prose), Griest finds her preconceived beliefs astir the “Evil Empire” shaken to their core.

cover representation  of Wandering successful  Strange Lands by Morgan Jerkins

Wandering successful Strange Lands by Morgan Jerkins

I truly enjoyed This Will Be My Undoing, truthful I was excited astir this one. In this reported memoir, Jerkins delves into her family’s past, recreating her ancestors’ journeys during the Great Migration. This travel takes her from Georgia and South Carolina to Louisiana, Oklahoma, and California, and gives her penetration not lone into her ain past, but into the communicative of an full radical who were displaced and disenfranchised, beaten down by the racism that exists astatine the bosom of an full country.

Book screen  of Moby Dyke by Krista Burton

Moby Dyke by Krista Burton

This 1 is connected my TBR for a fig of reasons: The rubric makes maine giggle. I emotion the screen art. And the premise conscionable sounds fun. In Moby Dyke, Burton decides to question to America’s past fewer lesbian bars successful bid to fig retired wherefore determination are truthful fewer left. In taking this cross-country journey, she not lone explores the disappearance of a definite benignant of venue, but besides the improvement of the experiences of an full marginalized community.

Catfish and Mandala by Andrew X. Pham successful  Books About Finding Yourself | BookRiot.com publication  cover

Catfish and Mandala by Andrew X. Pham

I was drawn successful by the premise of this book, astir a Vietnamese American antheral who quits his occupation and sells disconnected each of his possessions aft the decease of his sister truthful helium tin instrumentality a year-long solo motorcycle travel from Mexico to South Korea to Japan and beyond. His sardonic code kept maine speechmaking (I’m a sucker for dark, deadpan humor). This travelogue is astir — among different things — 1 man’s hunt for location and taste identity.

book screen  - Looking for Transwonderland

Looking for Transwonderland by Noo Saro-Wiwa

Saro-Wiwa grew up successful England, but was forced to sojourn her begetter successful Nigeria each summer, a travel she dreaded. When her father, an activist, was killed, the visits stopped. Years later, she returned to the state successful an effort to reconnect with and recognize the spot her begetter had cared astir truthful much. In her travels, determination is inactive overmuch astir Nigeria that she continues to loathe. But she soon finds that determination is besides a batch to love.

book screen  - Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes

Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes

Okay. I cognize I made a jab earlier astatine achromatic women with the clip and wealth to wantonness their lives successful bid to “find themselves.” I was jealous. Besides, it truly does look arsenic if immoderate of the champion question memoirs — notably by women, gender-diverse folks, and BIPOC authors — are overmuch much than conscionable elemental travelogues. Rather, they look extracurricular the aforesaid successful bid to tackle larger systemic issues. But I volition ne'er not emotion this classical astir a pistillate who — connected a whim — decides to acquisition and hole up a location successful Tuscany. I mean, who doesn’t privation to beryllium Diane Lane?

book screen  for Airplane Mode by Shahnaz Habib

Airplane Mode by Shahnaz Habib (December 5)

This past rubric (forthcoming from Catapult Press) is portion memoir, portion reported taste critique. In this book, Habib tackles her analyzable narration to question and question penning arsenic a South Indian pistillate of color, exploring who gets to question and who gets to constitute astir it. Basically, it’s a effect to Roberson’s archetypal question: Why are each the question memoirs by achromatic dudes? Which makes it the cleanable rubric to circular retired this list.

If you’re inactive Team Bill Bryson, we got you. Check retired our Reading Pathways post connected his work. But if you’d similar to grow your question penning adjacent further, we besides person posts connected the most anticipated question books of 2023, place-based memoirs, and unconventional books astir travel.

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