At Home in the World: Reflections on Belonging While Wandering the Globe

Review "Oxenreider makes a convincing case that travel with children is not just possible, but rewarding for all involved. Even those who wouldn't consider such an endeavor will enjoy going along for the ride on the page, and might be encouraged to take on new travel adventures with their families." -Booklist As Tsh Oxenreider, author of Notes From a Blue Bike, chronicles her family’s adventure around the world-seeing, smelling, and tasting the widely varying cultures along the way-she discovers what it truly means to be at home.The wide world is calling.Americans Tsh and Kyle met and married in Kosovo. They lived as expats for most of a decade. They’ve been back in the States-now with three kids under ten-for four years, and while home is nice, they are filled with wanderlust and long to answer the call.Why not? The kids are all old enough to carry their own backpacks but still young enough to be uprooted, so a trip-a nine-months-long trip-is planned.At Home in the World follows their journey from China to New Zealand, Ethiopia to England, and more. They traverse bumpy roads, stand in awe before a waterfall that feels like the edge of the earth, and chase each other through three-foot-wide passageways in Venice. And all the while Tsh grapples with the concept of home, as she learns what it means to be lost-yet at home-in the world.“In this candid, funny, thought-provoking account, Tsh shows that it’s possible to combine a love for adventure with a love for home.” -Gretchen Rubin, New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before From the Inside Flap What would you say if your spouse suggested selling the house, putting the furniture in storage, and taking your three kids under age ten on a nine-month trip around the world? Tsh Oxenreider said, "Thank you for bringing it up first."In this intimate, transporting memoir, Tsh shares the story of how her family spent a rather ordinary nine months in an extraordinary way: circumnavigating the earth to see, firsthand, the places they've always wanted to explore. She chronicles their global journey from China to Singapore to Australia, Uganda, France, Croatia, and beyond, as they fill their days with mouth-watering food, breathtaking sights, train schedules, world-schooling the kids, and the gradual awareness of all the world teaches about itself, its inhabitants, and the places we call home.From releasing paper lanterns in Thailand to experiencing the community of strangers in Zimbabwe, Tsh invites readers to join her on a trek around the globe without the cost of a ticket; to discover the people, places, and stories worth knowing about; to belong in the familiar and yet feel at home outside of it; and to find the balance between wanderlust and rootedness. "Travel has taught me the blessing of ordinariness, of rootedness and stability," she writes. "It can be found anywhere on the globe." "In this candid, funny, thought-provoking account, Tsh shows that it's possible to combine a love for adventure with a love for home." - GRETCHEN RUBIN, New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before "A remarkable example of how to balance the rooted stability of family with the winged adventure of wanderlust." --CHRIS GUILLEBEAU, New York Times bestselling author of Born for This and The $100 Startup "A beautiful reminder of how travel shapes us, how beautiful the world is, and how parenting doesn't need to mean the end of adventuring." --SHAUNA NIEQUIST, New York Times bestselling author of Present Over Perfect and Bread and Wine"Tsh is the only person I know who makes traveling around the world with her family of five sound not only normal, but downright cozy." --EMILY P. FREEMAN, author of Simply Tuesday and A Million Little Ways"A welcome counterpoint to the 'burn it all down' travel memoir genre." --SARAH BESSEY, author of Jesus Feminist and Out of Sort