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A review by bethaniekay
Nala's World: One Man, His Rescue Cat, and a Bike Ride Around the Globe by Dean Nicholson, Garry Jenkins
5.0
Like so many others, I'm one of the followers who discovered Dean and Nala after The Dodo featured them back in April of 2019. I'm an avid traveler and a huge fan of cats in general, so his story spoke to me and I've followed their journey online every day since then.
This book is way more than just cute pictures (although there are definitely plenty of those), as it tells Dean's story of why he set out on this journey in the first place, what he's learned along the way, who he's met, what he's seen, and how Nala has literally changed his life. It's part travelogue, part cute kitty story, with a healthy dash of environmental and animal awareness, sprinkled with some life lessons and inner growth, and a side of faith restored in humanity from all the kindness he's shown from strangers. It's definitely a recipe for an enjoyable read that's tough to put down.
Having followed Dean and Nala for over a year now, many of the stories in the book and the people he met along the way were familiar to me. But it was interesting to get more details about those stories and learn aspects that I never knew - and that honestly shed some light on his plight. For example, I didn't really know the details of his journey before he found Nala in Bosnia. And I didn't know how he'd gotten his kayaking job on Santorini for the summer, nor that he was actually supposed to stay and work there longer, but he chose to leave the island early. It seems he primarily left early in order to get back on the road and get new content for his now massively swollen follower count -- but it made me a little sad that one of the reasons he chose to leave early was due to all the solicited (and unsolicited) visits to his workplace by his followers. I get the desire to see them, but he was actually working. As it happens, I was actually on Santorini the same time they were, but I didn't want to be a crazy stalker fan, so I didn't go find them. In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't. It was also interesting to learn that the idea for this book was pitched to him way back then, when he was on Santorini.
His life really did take such a huge turn after The Dodo featured him. I'm sure not all of the changes have been positive, but overall he seems to have used his newfound power/fame for good, which I fully respect. He always impresses me with his care and concern for people, animals, and the environment, and I love that he continues to donate money to charities around the world. (As an aside, I was shocked to learn how many calendars he sold and the total profit!). I also really love hearing about all the strangers he comes across who help him in various ways (either in person or virtually/online). The world has been a pretty ugly place lately, so reading how complete strangers help him and Nala is really the feel-good story we need right now.
This book ends in the spring of 2020, right after the lockdowns had crippled the world in the wake of the Covid-19 global pandemic. Dean and Nala have continued their adventures (as much as possible) since then, so I'm hoping that there will be another book sometime in the future.
This book is way more than just cute pictures (although there are definitely plenty of those), as it tells Dean's story of why he set out on this journey in the first place, what he's learned along the way, who he's met, what he's seen, and how Nala has literally changed his life. It's part travelogue, part cute kitty story, with a healthy dash of environmental and animal awareness, sprinkled with some life lessons and inner growth, and a side of faith restored in humanity from all the kindness he's shown from strangers. It's definitely a recipe for an enjoyable read that's tough to put down.
Having followed Dean and Nala for over a year now, many of the stories in the book and the people he met along the way were familiar to me. But it was interesting to get more details about those stories and learn aspects that I never knew - and that honestly shed some light on his plight. For example, I didn't really know the details of his journey before he found Nala in Bosnia. And I didn't know how he'd gotten his kayaking job on Santorini for the summer, nor that he was actually supposed to stay and work there longer, but he chose to leave the island early. It seems he primarily left early in order to get back on the road and get new content for his now massively swollen follower count -- but it made me a little sad that one of the reasons he chose to leave early was due to all the solicited (and unsolicited) visits to his workplace by his followers. I get the desire to see them, but he was actually working. As it happens, I was actually on Santorini the same time they were, but I didn't want to be a crazy stalker fan, so I didn't go find them. In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't. It was also interesting to learn that the idea for this book was pitched to him way back then, when he was on Santorini.
His life really did take such a huge turn after The Dodo featured him. I'm sure not all of the changes have been positive, but overall he seems to have used his newfound power/fame for good, which I fully respect. He always impresses me with his care and concern for people, animals, and the environment, and I love that he continues to donate money to charities around the world. (As an aside, I was shocked to learn how many calendars he sold and the total profit!). I also really love hearing about all the strangers he comes across who help him in various ways (either in person or virtually/online). The world has been a pretty ugly place lately, so reading how complete strangers help him and Nala is really the feel-good story we need right now.
This book ends in the spring of 2020, right after the lockdowns had crippled the world in the wake of the Covid-19 global pandemic. Dean and Nala have continued their adventures (as much as possible) since then, so I'm hoping that there will be another book sometime in the future.