Heather Hackett

I read Heather Hackett’s first book RESTLESS so was thrilled to see she has written a second book. GAIJIN LIVE NEXT DOOR records her experience of living in Japan for eight years.

Heather has a restlessness in her that makes her want to go from country to country absorbing the views, the people, the cultures. Unlike many people outside their comfort zones, Heather showed appreciation and respect for other cultures. In her beautifully written journal she reveals the good and not so good that she encountered. Some experiences were quite frustrating and put a strain on their marriage, but somehow they persevered. While I too love to travel I have never had a desire to visit Japan. But I did enjoy reading about the culture of the people and the beautiful scenery.

I chuckled through her stories of catching her skirt in her bike’s chain and resorting to strangers to cut her free, and having a woman who had fallen in the mud rush into Heather’s house to clean up and “borrow her washing machine”. Heather holds nothing back in writing her thoughts and opinions regarding her encounters.

I am amazed at how she and her husband were able to travel with first a baby, then a toddler, and later two children. Her children gained an education of the world that few children ever experience.

The book alternates between her narrative and her journal entries, and sometimes the two got repetitive. But overall I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful story of her travels.… (más)

I feel like Ms. Hackett and I are kindred spirits. She has a restlessness in her that makes her want to go from country to country absorbing the views, the people, the cultures. To quote her “The true reality of being a traveler is that life often leads us in directions we never expect, to places we would never imagine going, people we wouldn’t meet otherwise.” I certainly can relate to that.

Family and friends did not understand the drive that kept Heather and her husband (and later their children) on the go, leading to them living out of backpacks for more than a decade. But Heather recognized the lessons to be learned when traveling. In her travels throughout Thailand, Nepal, India, and Burma she found that no matter how little people had they were willing to open their homes to strangers.

Unlike many people outside their comfort zones, Heather showed appreciation and respect for other cultures. In her beautifully written journal she reveals the good and not so good that she encountered. Some experiences were quite frustrating but they persevered. I particularly appreciated her recognition that we often think we are entitled to items that to us are basic necessities (soft bed, three meals, hot showers, clean clothes, etc) but to some are luxuries. “Small things, things we often took for granted or overlooked the value of, became monumental gifts.”

This was a delightful read.… (más)