ONE YEAR OFF: Leaving It All Behind for A Round-the-World Journey with Our Children - Hardcover

Cohen, David Elliot

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0684836017 ISBN 13: 9780684836010

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1999

Synopsis

A chronicle, told in e-mail, of a year-long globe-spanning journey taken by the author, his wife, and their three young children offers stunning photographs of the journey and striking tales of adventures encountered along the way. 50,000 first printing. Tour.

About this title

Review:

On the one hand, you've got to like this book. When David Elliott Cohen turned 40, he freaked out, sold everything, swooped up his wife and three kids, and took a year off to travel around the world--from Costa Rica and Burgundy to Zimbabwe, Laos, and Sydney--with clan in tow. This gutsy dive into the non-antiseptic, non-Americanized world (a dream for some), offers an entertaining peek into family life on the road. Written in a personal, personable e-mail style, it's often hilarious.

On the other hand, you may think Cohen is nuts. His kids cause scenes, break bones, and are often bored with the international scenery. Their family travel budget is measly--$60 a day to cover food for parents, children, and babysitter in places like Paris and Zurich. You can't help wondering why Cohen didn't just go the luxe route with the wife and leave the kiddies (including the 2-year-old) at home. While Cohen seems quite likable, as does his wife, Devi, there are moments when you want to report them to a child protective agency. Why are they endangering the lives of their kids--disregarding warnings not to take children into the African game reserve where they are likely prey for hyenas, and trekking deep into nature to see waterfalls and volcanoes with a toddler--just because they're suffering from midlife crises? After reading a year's worth of mishaps and adventures--amusing though many are--you may feel like a grandparent, wishing Mr. Cohen and wife would just take their kids home. More a travelogue than a guide, this unusual book nonetheless is filled with many examples of what not to do if you feel inclined to drag your children abroad for a year. After reading this, however, you may not feel like going at all. --Melissa Rossi

From Kirkus Reviews:

A genial and forthright record, in the form of e-mails, of a year in the life of a San Francisco family who unloaded house, jobs, and possessions to travel around the world together. Fortieth birthday malaise led Cohen (A Day in the Life of America, not reviewed, etc.) in search of the ``spirit of adventure,'' which he felt had disappeared in marriage, kids, and a suburban lifestyle. He wanted to lose the suburbs, but not the wife and children (Kara, eight years old, Willie, seven, and Lucas, two) so he and his wife, Devyani Kamdar, planned an itinerary for the whole family. It took them six months, but by late summer 1996, they were en route to Costa Rica, where rain forests and coatimundis enchanted the children, and Cohen mused on the irony of sipping margaritas in a steaming pool beneath an active volcano. They toured the Louvre in Paris, cruised the Saone River in Burgundy aboard a rented houseboat, and joined Devi's father in Sardinia, where preparing and eating meals is a team sport. Next was Rome, Tuscany, Greece, and Turkey, where the children alternately disdained and enjoyed museums and historic sites, made more palatable by their father's stories and their mother's ingenious games. The children were rewarded at animal parks in Africa (where they escaped a hippo's attack), at a camel fair in India, and at an elephant playland in Thailand. In Australia, they settled down for nearly six months, enrolling the children in school. A quick swing through Laos and Cambodia (the same week that Pol Pot was deposed) ended the trip. Back in San Francisco, Cohen weighed the rewards of the trip against the risks and the ultimate question, was it worthwhile? Yes, in terms of shared experiences and personal epiphanies, although there were drawbacks (``there is such a thing as too much family togetherness.'') Anecdotes and advice aplenty for families bent on adventure travel. Photographs were taken by the author's wife. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0684836017
• ISBN 13: 9780684836010
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 302