Writing Away: Helping Travelers Tell Their Stories

Two major trends have recently swept the travel world: the first, an overwhelming desire (thanks to Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestseller, Eat, Pray, Love) to write one’s own memoir; the second, an explosion of blogs and social media such as facebook and twitter that help travelers document their experiences instantaneously.

The act of chronicling one’s journey has never been more popular, nor the urge stronger.

Lavinia Spalding’s new book, Writing Away: A Creative Guide to Awakening the Journal Writing Traveler, addresses both trends and will inspire budding memoirists and jetsetting scribes alike. But Writing Away goes much further—it also introduces the handwritten travel journal as a profoundly valuable tool for reconnecting with yourself and the physical world in an increasingly digital era. Spalding spins the romantic tradition of keeping a travelogue into a modern adventure in creativity and spiritual growth, demonstrating how traveling—and keeping a journal along the way—is the world’s most valuable writing exercise. Writing Away teaches you to embrace mishaps in order to enrich your experience, recognize in advance what you want to remember, tap into all your senses, overcome writer’s block, and tackle the discipline that is crucial to the creative process. Whether you’re a first-time wanderer, a seasoned vagabond, an armchair adventurer, or a curious spiritual soul, Writing Away will inspire you to see the world—and yourself in it—differently. “Lavinia Spalding has given travelers a witty, profound, and accessible exploration of the hows and whys of keeping a journal,” 
says Anthony Weller, author of The Siege of Salt Cove. “Novices and veterans alike will find inspiration and fresh ideas on every page, along with practical suggestions to bring out the best writer in anyone.”
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Alexandra Fuller, author of Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, calls Writing Away, “a beautifully vital antidote to the frenetic buzz of blogging and texting, to be savored and shared.”

And Rolf Potts, author of Vagabonding adds, “Spalding doesn’t just give you ideas for keeping a travel journal— she makes a convincing case for why keeping a travel journal is important, and how this personal writing ritual can deepen your journey in unexpected ways.”

Lavinia Spalding is also author of With a Measure of Grace, the Story and Recipes of a Small Town Restaurant, and her work has appeared in such publications as Yoga Journal, Sunset Magazine, Post Road, CitySmart, and Inkwell. Although her inextinguishable wanderlust prevents her from ever really staying put, she currently lives in San Francisco. LaviniaSpaldingsBlogspot.com

Publisher: Travelers’ Tales 
Publication Date: May 2009
 $14.95, paperback, 264 pages 
ISBN: 1932361677

The Lavinia Spalding: Arizona Tour

Ms. Spalding will discuss and sign copies of her new book, WritingAway:A Creative Guide to Awakening the Journal-Writing Traveler.She will also be available to disucuss and will bring copies of With a Measure of Grace, the Story and Recipes of a Small Town Restaurant.