Frederic B Tate

A Guide for Getting Lost Frederic B Tate

When I was a child my grandmother gave me my first reading using the faded, worn deck of tarot cards that she brought with her from Europe. The first card she turned over was the chariot. "You will travel far," she said with excitement and just a touch of envy. This prediction did come true. There is a difference between tourists and travelers. This book is for the latter. It is part memoir with elements of narrative. A Guide for Getting Lost encourages readers to get a passport, pack a bag, and skip the traditional, frenetic vacation. Travel tests our qualities of determination, physical stamina, and emotional strength. A good journey removes us from what is familiar and routine as we give up the comforts of home, taste new food, and learn to trust strangers. The purpose of travel is not distraction, but fulfillment. Though travel is the main character in this book, it is not a guide in any traditional sense. The stories are true but the reader is drawn into the events as if they were fiction. It is more about the trip than the destination. I travel because I do not want life to pass me by and my writing is as much about approaching the world with curiosity, what we can learn about ourselves, and the state of mind while traveling, than the actual, physical location. It might be best described as a guide to the soul and heart of the places visited and the everyday people I meet along the way. The reader will kayak with whales in Alaska, explore ancient, stone circles in Ireland, hike in New Zealand, and bike around Jamestown Island.