Hard not to compare to Eat, Pray, Love. Even the negative reviews have the same flavor. Reading the one-star reviews were nearly as entertaining as reading the one-star reviews for Madame Bovary.

Memoir is supposed to be rooted in the point of view of the memoirist. The detached anonymity of an anthropological gaze isn’t neutral. It merely creates an Othering. It’s rather refreshing to see through Rita’s curious, vulnerable, and empathetic eyes.

The book is my consolation prize for not being able to adventure with her in real life.

I enjoyed this book. I was very interested to learn about the places she went to. I admire her for being able to just pick up and go.

I loved this book/diary of her travels. I felt many times that I could have been right beside her. She talks about the beautiful people and places she has been and her experiences while with them. But, she doesn't just talk about the beautiful, she also let's you know some of the nastier stuff that is happening in some of these places. I loved getting to know her and all of her wonderful and amazing experiences.

3.5

This was a tough one to finish. I couldn’t overcome how unbelievably entitled the author’s voice and attitude are throughout the entire book.

I really enjoyed this book. I read it after meeting Rita at a Pulpwood Queens book club meeting. I disagree with others' assessment of her in their reviews. She is a confident and assertive woman, but you would have to be to live as she does. I reveled in sharing her experiences. I will never do anything like this but I applaud her courage and joie de vivre that enriches so many lives.

Inspiring!

It's taken me about 6 months to finish this book... there was a long break in between starting and finishing due to general motherhood fatigue. I had a day at my mother in laws house where I had help with my child and devoured the rest. There was a strange serendipity with how I came across this book in the first place. I brought home a book called "More Spaghetti, I Say!" by the author, from the free book cart. It's a very funny read about a monkey who is obsessed with spaghetti and her poor brother/friend who wants to play, but she's too busy eating spaghetti. I wanted to see if there were other books by the author in my library to read to my daughter, and came across her website and read about her life as a nomad and was totally intrigued. The book was available for checkout at my library branch which was serendipitous enough, but as I brought it back to the desk from the shelf, I noticed a copy on the donated books cart, along with "Female Nomad and Friends"! So $4.00 to the Friends of the Library later, I now owned 3 books by Rita Gelman.... and would not suffer any overdue library book notices, which turned out to be helpful since it took me 6 months to finish. Suffice it to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure and look forward to reading "Female Nomad and Friends" soon.

Meh

I found the writing tedious. And for all her boasts of immersing in the culture, it seems it was only done when convenient.

I found this book as a recommendation for a solo female travelers group.
Apparently Rita Golden Gelman has emassed quite a niche following amongst the 50 plus women's community seeking empowerment and enlightenment through very off the beaten path travel.
The book follows Gelman as she travels through Mexico on her first big solo trip as a needed respite from her dissolving marriage. 15 years and 300 pages later, Gelman documents her travel to rain forests, tropical islands, small beach communities with interspersed trips back to the United States.
There is some hardcore bravery that goes into an utterly nomadic lifestyle. Aside from a few encounters including one with a drunken villager, Gelman focuses on the pure joy of immersing herself for weeks to years in cultures and familes.
This truly is a 'how to do it' book for folks seeking inspiration on international travel.
Gelman has several tricks in her back pocket that make her travel easier including being a freelance writer and having strong family support in the states.
In a post covid era, the ability to move in and out of unique areas of the world makes for a uniquely compelling read. Enjoy!