No Baggage

(Paperback, Paperback)

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When Clara Bensen arranged to meet Jeff Wilson on the steps of the Texas State Capitol, after just a fewemail exchanges on OK Cupid, it felt like something big was going to happen. Jeff is a wildly energeticuniversity professor with a freewheeling spirit. Clara is a sensitive, reclusive writer just recovering from aquarterlife existential breakdown. Within a few days of knowing one another, they decide to embark on a crazyexperiment: a 21-day minimalist travel adventure, from Istanbul to London, with zero luggage, zeroreservations, and zero plans. They want to test a simple question: what happens when you welcome theunknown instead of attempting to control it

Donning a single green dress and a small purse containing a comb, a toothbrush, and a credit card, Claratravels through eight countries in three weeks. She finds herself on an old train chugging along the Turkishcoast, taking a giant ferry across the Aegean, and on a cramped bus in the Balkans. Along the way, Clararuminates on the challenges of traveling unencumbered: Though she gets better at facing her fears andnavigating the unfamiliar, she knows that when it comes to falling in love, you can never really travel withoutbaggage.

No Baggage is at once a romance, a travelogue, and a bright modern take on the classic questions: howdoes one find the courage to explore And is it really possible to maintain love and personal freedom It's foranyone who has harboured fantasies of traveling with no end destination in mind. Or longed to throw caution tothe wind when embarking on a new relationship. It's a story that will resonate with adventurers and homebodies alike.


Comparison titles: a romantic story between an academic and a younger, energetic woman such as that of Graeme Simsion's The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect; an exotic romance that leads to emotional and cultural adventure such as Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love; a spontaneous adventure such as Cheryl Strayed's Wild and Robyn Davidson's Tracks.

Reviews

"Its a sweet tale; part-travel experiment, part-romance but Bensens excursions into her quarter-life crises lend this memoir more gravitas than one would expect." Sunday Age

"Her memoir is hilarious, heart-warming and may well encourage you to drive straight to the airport. Can adults really live with no baggage" Sunday Canberra Times

Author Bio

Clara Bensen is the author of the Salon.com article entitled "The Craziest OKCupid Date Ever" that went viral in 2013 and was readby more than half a million people. The story of her luggage-less adventure attracted major national andinternational attention, with coverage in USA Today, and appearances on The View, Fox News. No Baggagehas also been optioned by New Line cinemas. Clara and her boyfriend Jeff are still together, and have madetwo subsequent no-baggage trips, to South America and the Caucuses. They live in Austin, Texas.