I love memoirs that employ humor, those that revolve around travel, and those that feature spooky historical houses. Author Roz Morris manages to combine all three in her memoir Not Quite Lost: Travels Without a Sense of Direction.
Here’s a line from my review:
The book is an enchanting mix of ghost stories, misty ruins of past glory, and the kindness of people who serve as unintended tour guides.
Read the rest below or on Goodreads.
Great job, Roz!
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Roz Morris’ Not Quite Lost is a marvelously cozy memoir to tuck up with in your favorite chair on a weekend, cup of tea in hand.
Quiet, funny, observant, the book rolls through one short essay after another about the author’s travels through life, both real and metaphysical. Most of the adventures take place with her husband, Dave, in their native country of England. They travel at odd times of year for odd reasons and meet odd, but colorful, people. And many of their wanderings involve once-grand, now spooky homes.
Though most of the tellings are humorous portrayals of strange moments, the author proves a deft hand at using such occasions to highlight the offbeat and profound twists and turns life can take.
There’s the townhouse with a staircase to nowhere, a ghostly remnant of the home’s bizarre history. And the used car the author, a dedicated Londoner, bought upon getting her driver’s license at the age of 35 after too being frustrated for too long by trains that didn’t reach the hamlets she hankered to roam. Not to mention the journey where the author met a group of Sussex folks who are Cryonicists, i.e., those who plan to be frozen upon death in hopes they’ll be unfrozen at some point after problems like disease and old age are cured.
The book is an enchanting mix of ghost stories, misty ruins of past glory and the kindness of people who serve as unintended tour guides.
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For updates about Martha’s forthcoming memoir, Bliss Road (June 2023), historical novel, The Falcon, the Wolf and the Hummingbird (October 2023), or other books, news and giveaways, subscribe to her website.