Shannon Leone Fowler

Traveling with Ghosts is a memoir of Shannon's travels through Israel and Eastern Europe (with flashbacks to other trips and her childhood in California) in the wake of her fiancé's sudden death.

The paperback was given to me by a good friend who once said to me at the beginning of my own journey through grief, "This is the club that no one ever wants you to be a part of. But now that you're here, we're also here for you." It is one of the most honest descriptions of grief I have ever read. I wouldn't recommend it to someone actively grieving (you'll take one look at the description and nope on out of that reading experience anyway) — it's raw and painful. But when you get to the part of your life when you're wondering "why doesn't anyone know anything about what this experience actually looks like," pick this book up, and then never go swimming in Thailand ever again.… (más)

Traveling with Ghosts is Fowler’s soulful tale of her fiancé’s sudden death and her subsequent attempts to come to terms with the loss through travel and writing. In this, we see a disappeared relationship reconstructed and celebrated, Fowler coming to do the same with the life that remains to her. This is fine travel writing and in that sense it will appeal to those looking for a slice of the life unlived, but there’s also true poignancy and insight into self and relationships here and enough clever linguistic turns to satisfy the most literary of readers.… (más)

I am SO impressed with Fowler's ability to write---and most especially about such an extremely personal and emotional part of her life. I found the book absolutely fascinating---the descriptions were incredibly detailed and although she mentions keeping journals there is just an amazing view that is presented to the reader---you can actually "see" Shannon as she experiences this period of her life. I found the most rewarding part of the book to be the two Israeli women who just plain stopped their own lives in order to care for Shannon immediately after Sean's death----they have a life long relationship now and no wonder---just an incredible story of giving by two human beings--how many people are there like that in this world of divisions? I'm not sure what she will write about next but I do hope that Shannon Fowler continues to put pen to paper and write.......… (más)