“This isn’t what I signed up for,” I thought, staring down the barrel of middle age at age 34. “Why oh why didn’t I adventure more when I had the chance?” I fantasized about quitting the rat race, living in a van, creating a life of travel … only to be reminded of my responsibilities, my children and my debts.
Unbeknownst to me, the life I'd thought I'd been building was about to be turned on its head. I wouldn't end up living in a van. But I discovered, to my bewildered surprise, middle age had not marked the end of my adventuring years. Middle age is when adventuring starts getting good!
This book is an inquiry into that most basic essence of adventuring: the profound human thrill of mere self-reliance. The empowerment of loading your trunk, and the joyous wash of freedom as you leave the driveway and enter a different world, alone in your unfolding experience, released from the tethers of support and security. The heightened significance of routine tasks — heating water, making a sandwich, putting on a jacket — when those tasks take place in the context of survival. Seeking out empty space on a map, beyond the reach of supervision and authority. Embracing risk, pushing up against the boundaries of our comfort zones and good judgment, and the comedy and satisfaction of dealing with the consequences when we push too far. And recognizing the call from deep within to seek out experiences that are truly our own.
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My completed manuscript sits at 30 chapters. I've begun the slow process of pitching to agents, and inquiries are of course welcome. If you'd like to read and share feedback, I'm happy to mail you a printout. Contact me at tonypiff(at)gmail(dot)com.
