Book Review: Finding Myself

This is the kind of book that’s right up my alley–a woman on a dream trip to an interesting country learning about herself and figuring out what she wants in life. Travel has had that effect on my life many times and I enjoy reading about others who have also been influenced by adventures, culture, and people.

Finding Myself: A Novel is that kind of story–Becky is a young Canadian bored with her life. She has a dead-end job that has nothing to do with her passion, she has a comfortable but standard life with her husband, and she’s just sort of making it through when she’s offered the opportunity to join an archaeological dig in Israel…her dream job in her dream country. Of course, such an adventure comes with challenges–both internal and external–and, when the internship is over, Becky realizes she has some important decisions to make.

The idea is intriguing and it’s a great opportunity to learn more about ancient Israel, too.

The problem? The writing. It’s stilted; as I read some of the conversations and descriptions, I kept thinking of the old travel writing adage: “show me, don’t tell me.” The wording was unnatural and made characters seem shallow and unrealistic, which is unfortunate because the story itself has a lot of potential. Israel is also a great choice for a setting–so much interesting history–and while the author is clearly familiar with the location, her writing fails to fully bring it to life.

If you’re looking for a travel book about self-discovery and change, I have a whole list for you (including some movies!) that are a bit more developed than this one. (I also have a whole list of books set in Israel, too.)

*I was given a version of this book for free in exchange for an honest book review.