No Souvenirs - Hardcover

by Brian Forde (Author)

Miles, Misadventures, and MemoriesThe road takes more than it gives-and gives more than expected.No Souvenirs: My Year Around the World is a raw, hilarious, and unexpectedly tender travel memoir about what happens when you stop planning for "someday" and leave your life behind-without a safety net. When Brian Forde and his wife quit their jobs and set out on a yearlong journey, they aren't chasing luxury or spiritual enlightenment. They're chasing experience, discomfort, and the kind of stories you can't buy in a gift shop.From near-death encounters with bison in the American West to gruelling hikes, broken-down cars, sketchy Airbnbs, marathon finish lines, and sweltering desert highways, Forde documents the absurd realities of long-term travel with brutal honesty and sharp, self-deprecating humor. National parks, roadside diners, casinos, rain-soaked trails, and overheated cities become backdrops for moments of fear, joy, frustration, and awe.But No Souvenirs is more than a road trip book. It's a portrait of marriage under pressure, of learning when to push forward and when to sit the hell down, of watching your partner chase summits while you struggle just to keep your footing. It's also a meditation on aging, vulnerability, kindness, and the strange connections formed with strangers along the way-people who leave a mark long after the journey moves on.Unpolished, profane, and deeply human, No Souvenirs rejects the curated fantasy of travel in favor of truth. You don't come home with trinkets. You come home changed. And sometimes, a little more broken-in the best possible way.