Choosing to travel alone is not a resolution most come to naturally. That's because doing so requires us to go head to head with our fears: fear of risk, fear of the unknown, or plain old fear of being alone with nobody to depend on but ourselves. Yet, five years into solo travel - and with many eye - opening escapades under her belt - Janice Booth realised that taking that daring leap allowed her to discover who she is at her core, what truly matters in life, and what one is capable of when plopped into uncharted territory. In "Only Pack What You Can Carry", the unabashedly funny, brutally honest Booth - a self - proclaimed average working woman who doesn't have a trust fund to scoop from, or a second income, or even any particularly good survival skills - walks the reader through four key states of being/doing that have become the foundation for her life: solitude - engaging on a completely different level with ourselves and the world around us, without the distractions that come with relationships and obligations; introspection - committing uninterrupted stretches of time to just thinking.
Introspection is a natural byproduct of solitude; and, challenge - taking on an intentional challenge provides an opportunity to practice and cultivate personal courage. It also includes: commitment - a commitment to solo travel means a commitment to oneself, and to living the way we want to live. By giving ourselves this precious time, we pledge to not settle for less of a life than we desire. And we learn great lessons about ourselves in the process. Throughout each concept, Booth expertly intertwines her own adventures - including a handful of misadventures - in a page - turning style that is both absolutely comforting and thoroughly inspiring. Readers follow her down a geological rabbit hole in Utah on her initiation into solo travel and the allure of solitude...on a wild ride across 40 beaches in Costa Rica as she embraces the reality that exhilaration and danger can coexist...through Joshua Tree National Park, where she learns the sublime and deeply moving lessons of the desert...and more. The ultimate lesson? That doing something for oneself, by oneself can be the most transformational step of all.