I just finished Jennifer Cox's Around the World in 80 Dates, and all I can say is Wow! This was probably the most inspirational, romantic, book that I've read in a while. Truthfully, I didn't know what to expect when I picked this book up. I'd read books before about dating, and found them either boring or incredibly depressing.
Jennifer Cox was the publicity director for the Lonely Planet guidebooks. After ending a bad relationship, she came to the conclusion that she had to put as much effort into her personal life as she did into her job. Since she loved to travel, she thought that perhaps her sole mate was not in London, but out there in the great wide world. So she set off on a quest. She would take time off work, and travel around the world looking for her soul-mate.
She sent an email out to all of her friends around the world asking for help. The Date-Wranglers, as she calls them, in turn put the word out to their friends, and so and so forth. She decided, like Phineas Fogg, to date 80 men around the world to find her soul-mate. She put together a relationship resume, and a soul-mate description which she emailed to all her friends. AFter setting up the dates, off she went.
The book chornicles her quest for love, as she navigates the globe from Amsterdam to Stockholm to Paris to Germany, and then on to the US. It's not until date #55, that she actually meets Garry, her soul-mate, just by chance at the Burning Man Festival in Nevada. Even after meeting him, she continues on her journey of discovery, finally realizing that Garry is the man that she's been looking for. At the end of the book, she moves to Seattle to be with him.
Again, all I can say is wow! Jennifer Cox has to be the bravest as well as the craziest woman ever. She ends her journey not just finding love, but realizing that she is worthy of being loved. There's nothing like a bad relationship to make you question whether or not you are worthy of love. After all, if you've given everything you have, and it' s not reciprocated, it must be you right?
Around the world in 80 dates, is an adventure story, armchair travel, as well as a satisfying love story all in one. The best kind of book. I don't know if I would go around the world looking for love, I don't have the resources, but the book makes you believe that if you open yourself up, and take risks, you can find a soul-mate, even if he lives across the world.
What is the craziest thing anyone has done for love?
1 comment:
Sounds like quite the journey. :)
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