The Lost Girls
Authors: Jennifer Baggett, Holly Corbett and Amanda Pressner ISBN: 9780061689062
The Lost Girls is the personal story of three young women who quit their jobs in New York City to travel around the world.
After taking a trip to South America, Jen, Holly and Amanda discuss the possibility of quitting their jobs for a year. A few years later and that discussion becomes a reality. Leaving their careers, their families and some serious relationship baggage, Jen, Holly and Amanda plan for a year of adventure.
The chapters alternate between each woman and focus on a different city or country they visited.
I loved taking this entire journey with them. I felt like I was along for the ride. I was most amazed at how seamlessly the chapters flowed, even though they were all written by different people. The three women were so different, yet I completely understood why they clicked and why traveling together was so ideal for them. It reminded me of my summer in Rome when I became absolute best friends with my three roommates and travel buddies.
This book gave me the severe travel bug. As I was reading, I was learning about so many places in the world I had previously never given consideration to, and googling exotic places and mentally adding them to list of places I hope to one day see. These three young women are inspirational; they left their entire lives behind and took a huge risk, but they did what was important to them. They made their dreams come true and they saw the world. They learned about different cultures. They met people they never would have ever known about had they not taken this leap.
My only complaint was that this book was a bit too long…close to 600 pages. I completely understand why the book was long; I mean these girls traveled around the entire world, for a full year; how can that possibly make for a short book? However, as hard as it already probably was for them to edit some scenes out, I think the book might have been stronger if it was shorter.
I also thought it was pretty cool that the girls blogged throughout their travels….the book deal came later, and you can still check out their original blog posts. (I’d suggest not reading through their posts until you’re finished the book- spoilers!). Now, their website also serves as a hub for travelers to find advice and news for traveling.
This book definitely reminded me of why I love to travel. It inspired me to think about how I can make this passion a bigger part of my future. It made me think about the world in a different way. It made me consider places I’d never heard of.
In short, this book is a life-changer.
4.5/5
Wow, so glad to hear you enjoyed this one! Definitely sounds like I would like it, too. The 600-page count intimidates me a little, but anything that lets me travel from the comfort of my living room is usually fantastic.