Book Review: Home Sweet Anywhere
In 2011, Lynne and Tim Martin decided to sell their house and possessions and live abroad full-time. Since then they have lived in Mexico, Argentina, Turkey, France, Italy, England, Germany, Portugal and Morocco.
The Martins approach to living abroad is one that appeals to me. Their plan was not to find an ideal location and then move there and live as expats. Rather they wanted to combine their love of travel and exploration of new cultures with the experience of feeling a part of the communities that they visited.
Lynne made the decision to record their journey in her blog Home Free Adventures. That eventually led to a publishing contract for “Home Sweet Anywhere”.
In the recently released “Home Sweet Anywhere”, Lynne Martin describes their experiences from the sale of their home to telling their children their plans, figuring out what to get rid of, what to store, what to pack, and her husband’s meticulous planning of their nomadic life abroad.
The book is an easy and fairly quick read. Do not expect to find soul searching travel literature of the likes of Pico Ayer or Eric Newby. However, what you will find is an honest, sometimes amusing, account of the reality of a life lived establishing a new home in a new country several times a year, the good, the bad, and the unexpected.
Tim Martin took on the job of being the “fixer” for the journey and his hours spent searching out the best deals on repositioning cruises, places to stay, visa and passport requirements and the other many realities of living abroad are described in the book.
The author also covers the practicalities of what to take with you and what to wait and purchase when you arrive at your destination. The reader becomes privy to what has worked in the Martins’ travels and where they have encountered problems, including missing their children and grandchildren.
Lynne’s journey from a blogger to a travel journalist to the author of “Home Sweet Anywhere” is the second story line running through the book. Deciding publishing a book was too good an opportunity to pass up meant giving up some of the day to day freedom of being home free and instead scheduling a chunk of work time into their daily activities.
The book is a good read for those who dream about someday taking off for a part time or full time life abroad and for writers who wonder about what it would be like to take their writing to the next step.
Excerpts from other reviews of “Home Sweet Anywhere”:
“Martin never sugarcoats the challenges involved (“I ache with longing for my family occasionally”), but she concludes: “Every day, we learn something, see something, plan something, meet someone or solve some brand-new problem.” A good trade-off. And an even better book.” – The Wall Street Journal
“The author writes in an engaging, descriptive style that makes the reader feel s/he’s been invited along for the journey.” “The book is not just about travel, it’s about embracing the life you have and living it to the fullest.” – New York Journal of Books
