Review: Can We Live Here? - Sarah Alderson

Can We Live Here? by Sarah Alderson, published by Blink on 6th August 2015

Goodreads synopsis:
In 2009, Sarah and John Alderson quit their full-time jobs in London and headed off, with Alula, their three-year-old daughter, on a global adventure to find a new home. For eight months, they travelled through Australia, the US and Asia navigating India with a toddler in a tutu, battling black magic curses in Indonesia and encountering bears in North America asking themselves one defining question: Can We Live Here?

Inspirational, hilarious and fascinating this is an unforgettable travel memoir and a unique guide to quitting your job, following your dreams and finding your home in a far-flung paradise.

Review:
Sarah Alderson's first non-fiction title charts her escape from the rat race of London to a new adventure, trying to find a home somewhere in the world with her husband and young daughter.  As they travel through places such as India, Bali, Singapore and Australia, she contemplates finding the perfect place to settle in and put down new roots. 

I am not a big traveller myself and I definitely don't have the travel bug but what I could identify with in the book was Sarah's musings on escaping the trappings of day to day life and believing that there is something more out there - a simpler and less complicated way of living.  A life away from the routines, complacency, bills and the never-ending cycle of work that threatens to sap out spirit.  Sarah was brave enough to make the plunge into the unknown, which I really admired. 

I enjoyed reading about all the places she and her family ended up visiting and the new and unusual experiences that they have.  Some of her anecdotes are absolutely hilarious, such as in Malaysia, when a bus and a bottle are involved.  I did have to laugh.

It was also interesting to discover more about Sarah herself and to find out her path to becoming a published author.  I found it quite incredible how luck seemed to land in her lap, although she obviously had a talent for words all along and since then has worked incredibly hard writing lots of fantastic young-adult novels to keep all us readers entertained. 

Overall, an enjoyable travel memoir for those looking for a glimpse of a simpler way of life.