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I think we’ve all read, or at least heard of, travel memoir classics like Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love or Frances Mayes’ Under The Tuscan Sun. Both books following women as they go abroad to jump into new experiences. These stories certainly piqued my interest in running off to Italy (I mean, pizza alone already had me considering a one-way ticket, but the memoirs helped me see that others had the same plan). To be fair, Gilbert also included Indonesia and India, but the part on Italy jumped off the page.
There are a bunch of great travel memoirs out there – individuals brave enough to take time off to travel the world, complete a physical challenge and find themselves in new adventures. Once we made the decision to start our new adventure, I happened upon some rather different approaches to career break told by a couple of unique women.
Caroline Dooner’s book Tired as F*ck: Burnout at the Hands of Diet, Self-Help, and Hustle Culture explains why she decided to take a two-year break to rest, recuperate and reflect on years of self-imposed self-improvement. Of course, Caroline, like most of us, can’t truly sit idle for two years. Hustle culture (lots of definitions for hustle culture out there but this one is super clear) has deep roots, at least in North America. She bought a house, moved and did work on several projects, including writing this, her second book. Still, I found the book very self-affirming. I assume this is mostly because I read the book after deciding I was ready for a career break as well. The narrative is personal, engaging, hilarious and a unique perspective on the laundry list of reasons humans should not be working full-tilt for 60+ years without a break.
Canadian author and TV producer/writer Rupinder Gill tells her story of redoing “normal” childhood experiences she missed as a daughter of Indian immigrants, in a small Canadian town in On the Outside Looking Indian: How My Second Childhood Changed My Life. She learned to drive and swim, had a real sleepover and, fulfilling a long sought-after dream, moved to New York City where she put herself out there by writing and making connections in television…which has obviously paid off. I think what makes this story unique is that while Rupinder took a short break from her career, she took on huge personal risks to push herself to grow. Her story of small, planful steps leading to the potential of greater things to come (both in her career and personal life) is truly inspiring, with the perfect amount of humour and sarcasm.
Given how many adults take time away for a career break, I’m sure there are lots of other great examples out there to inspire you. Feel free to comment if you have any recommendations! I’m always adding to my reading list.