Monica Fox's Reviews > One Year Off: Leaving It All Behind for a Round-the-World Journey with Our Children

** spoiler alert ** At the age of forty- the author, David, has a midlife crisis and decides to sell everything him and his wife own- including his business and house in San Francisco in order to travel around the world for a year.

Money is literally no object to the author. He published ‘A Day in the Life of America’ in his twenties- it went on to become number one on The New York Times bestseller list for fifty six consecutive weeks.( He dedicated the first twenty eight pages of the book to flaunt these facts). So I have no idea why he pretends that they “can’t afford” to spend more than $100/day on food for his party of six. He’s desperately trying to come off relatable in the book but it comes off tasteless and tacky. The family spends $125,000 on their “One Year Off”. The author even states, "It cost us less to travel for a year than it would have cost to stay at home for the same period of time."

I wish he had just been honest and upfront that the family had a larger than average budget to spend on their year off. I don't believe anyone has written a book from an upper class perspective regarding their sabbatical.

David, much to his chagrin, tried to sound humble when writing the book but failed. The family hired an au pair from Guatemala to travel abroad with them. They did so in order to have an on-hand nanny that could watch the children while David and his wife went on date nights and excursions.

Page 64:
“Adventure tours, such as they are, tend to attract easy-going traveling companions – not the sort who whine if the soup isn’t hot or there’s a cockroach in the sink. But anyway you cut it, this was still a pre-planned, prepackaged, pre-destined experience-and on that level, it was ultimately unsatisfying.”

Page 125:
While in Florence, Italy- David believes himself to be above the restaurant rules. For lack of a better word- he’s an arrogant, privileged asshole. He shows 0 class to the owner of the Italian restaurant when he is asked to sit in another designated area because where he is currently sitting is closed to the public. David refuses to move, on several occasions- and he has the audacity to be smug about it. David is literally the classic American stereotype of a “stupid American”. This is the perfect example of why countries look down on American tourists.

Page 202:
Wow. I’m just disgusted with the author and his family by the time they arrive in Cape Town, South Africa. I don’t understand how they continue to allude to themselves as travelers when they are literally the worst kind of textbook tourists.

Tell me you’re a spoiled rich kid without saying you’re a spoiled rich kid. This is Kara’s view on poverty in Africa:

Privileged Child #1 🤮: “ Why do we have to keep looking at that? It is just a buncha rundown shacks. ”

On page 204:

David refers to the malnourished children living on the streets in India as “mendicants” aka beggars and then proceeds to “shoo them away” from his own children.

By page 224, it’s blatantly apparent that the family lived and breathed by their Lonely Planet guidebook. Every decision they made was based off their guidebook. If they were in a conundrum and didn’t know where to stay or where to eat they’d turn to their “Lonely Planet Guidebook.” A traveller would never do this. They'd arrive at a new destination- go to the nearest hotel or hostel and thus the adventure would begin. Travellers know that life is all about the journey, rather than the destination.

The book would have been great if the author didn’t come off as such an entitled pompous prick.