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Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
In his memoir Belonging to the World, Barry Hoffner expects a temporary goodbye when he and his wife, Jackie, leave for different countries overseas, until he receives the news that destroys the life they had built and planned. After telling his sons of the tragedy, Hoffner commits himself to relentless global travel, partly as a tribute, and partly as an act of survival. He moves through some of the most restricted and unstable places on earth, placing himself in situations that demand physical and emotional exposure far beyond anything he had faced in his settled adult life. Travel becomes the structure that replaces domestic routine, and Hoffner works through his grief, inspired by the wonder, generosity, and human connection he frequently finds. Through extreme travel, Hoffner sees how motion itself can be a viable way forward after extreme loss.
Belonging to the World by Barry Hoffner is a sweeping, beautiful look at a life redirected through loss into the wider human landscape. Hoffner shares some incredibly heartening moments, and I admit to getting choked up when he returns to Botswana to stand at the exact site of his wife's death. What I like most about Hoffner is his willingness to be part of material change, like when he responds to a real need in a Tuareg village outside Timbuktu, committing resources to build a school. What Hoffner describes of the landscapes he witnessed are near cinematic, the standouts being the scorched earth surrounding Turkmenistan’s Darvaza Gas Crater, aka The Door to Hell, where heat dominates the senses, and Palmyra, Syria, where shattered columns sit beneath the open desert sky. Written in a warm, conversational tone, this memoir is perfect for those looking for a read that embraces an adult reinvention and intentional, inspired travel. Very highly recommended.
