To see how the author went from young backpacker to older traveller was really interesting. Kind of a self-deprecating journey through his life, trying to figure out his place in the world through travel. I think this book would really appeal to anyone who has backpacked in their youth. The author travelled further than I ever did, but the early part of the book was basically me after college. ( )

Reading Brendyn's book felt a little voyeristic at times. He shares many intimate details about his experiences. Some stories made me laugh at the obsurdity of what he encountered on his travels and at other times, I found myself grossed out. Given my nephew has this type of lifestyle, I felt the book gave me a glimmer of what drives one to want to travel. Also, as someone who spent decades in a cubicle with limited vacation days, I cheered Brendyn on for his self-awareness and rebellion against the confines of the office. I did find the back and forth timeline approach a little confusing and there were times when a chapter felt a little jumbled. On the whole though, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to someone who pines for travelling (not touring). Thank you Brendyn for being willing to share such intimate details.

Having spent a good chunk of my early life as a backpacker and expat, I expected that the writing would be easy to relate to & enjoyable. But I did not connect with the narrator, who doesn’t come across as particularly likable. He is a self-proclaimed ‘travel-snob’ reluctant to join the work force with the rest of us suckers. Reading about the young and naïve version of the author and his smelly socks in sleepless nights in hostel dorm rooms with international snorers became tiresome. We also hear of his frustrations of having to suffer through briefly having a standard office job or feeling alienated when back home in Canada or vulnerable when living in a foreign country and not knowing the language. There is no winning here. He does venture to some “exotic” locations, with the highlight of the book for me being his trip to North Korea, though there are few details provided. Interspersed amongst his travel experiences, he describes his (heterosexual) love life (or lack thereof). I didn’t care for the jumping back and forth of the timeline, notably because I think it would have helped us understand his ‘journey’ better if his experiences were in sequence.
I won a free copy of this book (thanks to the author & publisher!) and am voluntarily providing an honest review. ( )

The Backpacker Lifecycle follows Brendyn's life changing journey as he learns the transformative power of travel. I also went on a backpacking journey around the same time as Brendyn and was able to connect with this book on many levels. As a fan of travel writing, I love the way the way this book is written as it pertains to his personal transformation rather than just chronologically through time. The stories are fun, heartwarming and laugh out loud funny! The story sums up the feelings of all travelers with this quote "I smirked and remembered an important fact: This was a good story. This was why I travelled." A great read! ( )

It was a fun romp and felt like sitting down with someone you don’t know very well and having them recount their adventures in no particular order as the author jumps back and forth in time, making it difficult to see if their travels truly changed them. Was a fine, if forgettable memoir. ( )