I love memoirs that take me away to a far-off place. Today, I get to review Finding Katya by Katie R. Aune. She is doing a tour with us on WOW! Women on Writing, and I can’t wait to tell you about her book.
But first, here’s her review:
Finding Katya is the inspiring and compelling story of one woman who ditches everything to embark on an unconventional adventure through the former Soviet Union.
On her 35th birthday, Katie Aune was at a crossroads. Still reeling from a difficult breakup and longing to find more meaning in her life, she hopped on a one-way flight to start a year-long journey of discovery. Once a Russian and East European Studies major in college, Aune plotted a course that would take her through all 15 states of the former Soviet Union.
In a book that is part memoir, part travelogue, Aune takes readers along as she discovers places that are far off the typical tourist track, from riding the Trans-Siberian Railway across Russia and taking a cargo ferry from Ukraine to Georgia, to volunteering in Tajikistan and camping in the desert of Turkmenistan. Faced with the vulnerability of traveling solo through unfamiliar lands, she shakes off her insecurities, embraces the unknown and realizes that each journey is worthwhile, even if it doesn’t go as planned.
My Review
What an excellent book! It took so much courage for Katie to do what she did. I loved the details she captured in the book, she wrote so many vivid details of her time in the former Soviet Union. It really felt like I was there during each experience. I appreciate that she is willing to share the difficulties as they come around too. She doesn’t paint a rosey picture for the reader. Overall, if you love travel memoirs, definitely pick this one up.
Purchase a copy of the book on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookshop.org. Make sure you add it to your GoodReads reading list.
Sounds like a good read.