The big 30 is right around the corner and friends Jennifer, Holly, and Amanda are starting to question if they are truly doing what they wanted to be doing with their lives. In 2006, the girls make a pact, quit their media jobs in Manhattan and take a leap of adventure, committing to a year-long trip around the world in search of inspiration and direction. In the dust of their departure they leave a trail of boyfriends and apartments.
Through thick and thin (and sometimes…. it does wear very thin!) the girls learn to rely on each other… sometimes funny, sometimes scary, and everything in between.
I recently read this joke that said, when a man takes off to find himself it is called a journey. When a woman does it, she is lost. Reading The Lost Girls made me laugh at the thought of this… these girls are not lost at all… they are adventurers; they have a heart for more and they speak my language. 😀
Have you ever just wanted to get lost? I used to have this fantasy of going off in the woods like Grizzly Adams (or…. err.. the female version of Adams) and just get away from it all…. the commitments, phones, the noise of life… and live off the land. Ok, ok you scoff because those who know me know about four days of that and I would be packing it up for the “big city” of Brainerd Minnesota, constantly checking for cell phone reception….. my point however is – that I did have this 
dream of myself just getting up and going, and so did these three girls.
I adored this book of the adventures of these three amazing women who threw caution to the wind and explored our world as most of us have only dreamed of. (Honestly – I wish they would have called me -I would have gladly been a fourth lost girl!)
There is so much to this book that I enjoyed I do not even know where to begin! The part of their trip that took them to Kenya where they worked in an orphanage with girls touched me deeply. Touring the killing fields in Cambodia would have taken my breath away. They traveled to the places that may not be the easiest, and I appreciated that this was not a book of “cruise ship” port stops.
I also love love ♥LOVE ♥that these women did not walk away from boring slouchy jobs… oh no, their jobs sound to me like…. well…. BLISS. Jennifer was a marketing manager at VH1, Holly was an Editor at Self Magazine and Amanda was an editor at Shape Magazine. The move to motivation was not the fact that they did not like these jobs, but more that they wondered if this was what they really wanted out of life…. the working too much… and living too little.
In the end the women found that the problems that they once found to be all-consuming in their pre-lost girls moment, were nothing compared to the troubles those in other countries face. Jennifer, Holly, and Amanda learned that things are never as bad as they seem and their lives no matter how cluttered and frustrating at times, are still pretty great lives.
For anyone who has ever dreamed of exploring the world and just letting go and seeing what happens, this book can take you there.
amazon Rating
Thank you to TLC Book Tours for my review copy
Book Journey 
this book sounds so good, my first time hearing about it
I had not heard of it either until it was offered for review… now I wonder how I missed out on it until now 😀
Sounds like a fascinating trip.
I think so too Carol… imagine going with your friends and just seeing …. and experiencing…. 🙂
Ah, this one sounds great…and I will think of it as a journey…
What a great adventure!
I agree Laurel…. I was so drawn into their adventures!
That sounds like a fantastic trip! How did they write the book together?
I can not believe I forgot to put this in the review Kathy – they took turns writing chapters…. they all have a piece in the book which is so cool!
Sounds fun! Taking a year off to travel, explore, adventure (and yeah, not just cruise ship ports) sounds excellent. 😀
I would love to see some of the things they did Hannah… 🙂
Oh, same here!
This is the first review that I have read for this book – I didn’t realize that it was based on true experiences. Now I HAVE to read it!
I like that too Bonnie…. and I like that it is real and not sugar coated. 🙂
This book would make me feel at once proud to be a woman and insanely jealous that I didn’t have the guts to do this myself!
Right Alison – I hear you there 😀
Ohh, this sounds like a book for me! I’d love to do that… Drop everything and go around the world 🙂
Me too…. so much out there I will never see if not for the books I read 😀
How fun!! I wish I had the courage and the initiative that these girls did.
I would love to Jenny…. what an experience!
This sounds just fabulous to me – both the book and the concept! I want to be #4 of the Lost Girls, too!!
I love travel of all kinds and would love to be able to do this kind of thing.
I will definitely have to read this one – thanks for the review, Sheila!
Sue
Sure Sue -enjoy!
Sweet! I am about to read this book and now I can’t wait to pick it up!
I seen you on the list for this tour – I hope you enjoy it much as I did 🙂
This looks like a fantastic book Sheila! I love adventure books!
You will love this one Angie!
I really want to read this book – i have to get a copy and soon! Great Review 😀
Thanks 🙂
I’m excited to read this book! I love travel books 🙂
You will love this one then Meg 😀
Hi All,
Thanks for the wonderful comments about the book! Writing it was almost as much of an adventure as going on the trip—and we’re better friends than ever after the fact!! Wanted to mention that Jen, Holly and/or I would be thrilled to do a Skyped-in author’s “visit” to any book clubs who pick up 12 or more copies. We’d be thrilled to answer your questions about travel (and taking a pause from “real life” to do it!)
Amanda (Lost Girls #3) 🙂
Thanks Amanda! How fun!
Sheila (Lost Girls “want to be” #4)
😛
I can’t wait to read this! It’s huge but being full of adventures, I won’t mind that.
It is big… I was like whoa…. how can this hold my interest? But it did
I love that that just took a chance and DID IT. How few of us actually are brave enough to do that …
Thanks for the great review Sheila!
It was a blast to read Heather 😀
Sheila…this does sound like an excellent book. I think it is time to dust off my copy and get to it. Thanks for the inspiration.
Sure Diane – enjoy 🙂
I think this book looks really fun and is exactly what I enjoy reading. Definitely on my list!
YAY Erin!
I really want to read this book. I have been to China and Japan and this have a lot on my bucket lisr. Hope to start chipping away on the list next year.
CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com
You would love this book Carol!
What a great review of what sounds like a great book! I think most of us dream of “getting lost”. I know that my dream was to join the Peace Corps, but an early pregnancy put a stop to that and also delayed my college education. NOW, however, I’m just waiting for my Bebe Boy to come of age so that I can do something similar (even being an older Peace Corps volunteer, as many others have started to do)
I wish I would have thought of the Peace Corp Julie when I was right out of school but that kind of thing was not even on my radar until years (and kids) later. What an exciting life style!