Journeying

All my life I’ve been consumed by the desire to travel. A passion, obsession, or, maybe, a form of therapy? Most likely, all of those. On the road, I’ve traveled alone, with my husband Jim, or with wonderful women’s groups I organized and led. Through those groups, I’ve made connections with women from other countries. I’ve worked with them, studied their lives, joined their causes, become their colleague and friend. In Journeying, I share much of what I have learned about familiar and new countries, about women, and about the cities, islands, mountains, and villages where I have encountered them. In learning about some of the world’s women, I have learned a great deal about myself. Journeying, at its best, is more than taking a trip somewhere. A journey, according to Webster’s, can be defined as a “passage from one place to another.” Above all, that is what travel has been for me – a passage from ignorance to growing enlightenment. I came to see my community as stretching from my own hometown in California to villages in Greece, towns in the developing world, cities in Europe and Asia. More than anything, my travels have fed my curiosity and taught me compassion. With this book I welcome you as a companion on my journey.