Overview

What happens when the path you choose leads far from everything you thought you knew? Shannon O'Brien leaves behind a life of routine to chase adventure across South America and Asia. With only a backpack and a restless heart, she dives into landscapes as beautiful as they are unpredictable. But what begins as a journey to explore the world soon becomes a deeper quest to explore herself. She finds herself lost and dehydrated in Peru's Colca Canyon, nursing an injured spider monkey in the Bolivian jungle, and inside a high-altitude jail. A crude hospital in Cambodia tests her limits, while encounters with a shaman in Vietnam and a dangerous brush with Moroccan drug lords challenge everything she thought she knew about trust and survival. When a relationship turns violent and threats close in from unexpected places, the stakes are no longer just about where she's going-but whether she can make it through. In a world that constantly shifts beneath her feet, Shannon's greatest challenge isn't just survival-it's learning how to keep moving forward without losing herself.

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Reviews

""From the very first page, Shannon O'Brien's memoir, Stray: Breaking Free, Falling Hard and Growing Stronger grabbed me by the hand and pulled me into a journey brimming with wonder, danger and reflection. I found myself wanting to pack a bag and step boldly out into the world, following in her footsteps."" -M.W. Duncan, author of the Amazon bestselling Carrion Virus series ""Shannon O'Brien's travelogue is a fast-paced globe-spanning memoir on par with the works of William Dalrymple and Paul Theroux. The author takes the readers to exotic locales and vividly describes the unique aspects of cultures and geographies in distant lands. The narrative is a series of fascinating portraits of travel off the beaten path - showing the good and the bad, experienced through the eyes of a seasoned traveller."" -Raghav Sing, author of Presidential Pardon ""Stray: Breaking Free, Falling Hard and Growing Stronger by Shannon Michele O'Brien is not just a travelogue, but an intriguing, engrossing story that shows how much courage it takes to leave the ordinary behind as you embark on the unknown. I gained a wider view of the world outside my limited borders through her insight into life-altering situations and the inspiration she gleaned from simple living. Her vivid writing style immersed me and made me forget I was reading about someone's life."" -Krista Rae Loran, author of Flame at Midnight ""I think of Shannon O'Brien's travel memoir as a love letter to the world. Each chapter offers a distinctive tone - some are adventurous and others emotional, but all of them are vivid, with descriptions that pull you deeper into her journey. My favourite chapter, Amid Monkeys and Mountains, captures the wildlife of Bolivia with beauty and precision."" -Felice Hardy, author of The Tennis Champion Who Escaped the Nazis ""From Australia to South America, with stopovers in Vietnam and other exotic locations, Shannon takes you on an adventure with a backpack and a motorcycle. She endures getting mauled in India and monsooned on, and meets some real characters in a prison in Bolivia. A wild ride you will enjoy taking with her."" -Karl van Lear

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