The Book
One of the important lessons I have learned in life is to remain calm and act confident, even while fighting the urge to panic. Nowhere was this lesson more applicable than when I got caught drying my underwear with the hair dryer in the ladies' room at the Taipei International Airport. How I devolved from a cubicle-dwelling rocket scientist living the good life in Silicon Valley with my wife and two children into the person drying his underwear in a ladies' restroom 16 time zones away from home is told in Armageddon Pills - Don't Leave Home Without Them (and Other Lessons From a Family's Journey Around the World).
Before we had children, my wife, September, and I had discovered how traveling can shape one's thinking. We wanted to give this experience to our children. From that early concept the idea of a year-long around-the-world trip with our children emerged. Jordan, our youngest, was just learning to talk when he heard of the trip. When referring to it, the words "world-the-round" came tumbling out of his mouth; the name stuck.
Before we had children, my wife, September, and I had discovered how traveling can shape one's thinking. We wanted to give this experience to our children. From that early concept the idea of a year-long around-the-world trip with our children emerged. Jordan, our youngest, was just learning to talk when he heard of the trip. When referring to it, the words "world-the-round" came tumbling out of his mouth; the name stuck.
Sample Chapters
Want a preview of the book Armageddon Pills? Take a look at a couple of sample chapters!
As the children grew older we backpacked and camped in far-flung corners of the world to learn what worked and what to expect. Saving and planning became a family activity. To unite us in our goal we would consider even modest expenditures as a family and say, "Do we really need this, or would we rather save the money for the world-the-round trip?" In the year before we left, we prepared home school lessons about the places we would visit and other curriculum.
In June, 2005 September and I quit our jobs and packed up our home. Over the next 52 weeks we visited 28 countries on five continents crossing 24 time zones. Along the way we saw the beauty of the Swiss Alps, the surprise of Carnaval in Panama City and the ugliness of the Cambodian Killing Fields. We stayed in the humblest of inns of the Bolivian Altiplano and witnessed the dazzling lights of Hong Kong. We learned while cycling across Europe that fate can be cruel; after being stranded in a tiny village in Africa we learned that strangers can perform astonishing acts of charity. When crossing the Bolivian salt flats we got stranded with no more than a bag of peanut M&Ms; how they saved us is how they came to be known as Armageddon Pills.
In June, 2005 September and I quit our jobs and packed up our home. Over the next 52 weeks we visited 28 countries on five continents crossing 24 time zones. Along the way we saw the beauty of the Swiss Alps, the surprise of Carnaval in Panama City and the ugliness of the Cambodian Killing Fields. We stayed in the humblest of inns of the Bolivian Altiplano and witnessed the dazzling lights of Hong Kong. We learned while cycling across Europe that fate can be cruel; after being stranded in a tiny village in Africa we learned that strangers can perform astonishing acts of charity. When crossing the Bolivian salt flats we got stranded with no more than a bag of peanut M&Ms; how they saved us is how they came to be known as Armageddon Pills.
