Corporate trainer and author shares insights in new book entitled ” Where Does This Road Go – A Boomer’s Walkabout”.
DATELINE – KINGSTON, MA…
A traditional “walkabout” refers to a rite of passage for male Australian Aborigines who undertake a journey during adolescence in which they would wander and live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months. Today, Martin H. Crowe, 65 years of age and former corporate trainer and now author of “Where Does This Road Go – A Boomer’s Walkabout” modernizes this rite in his new introspective travel book to address a need for contemplation and search for a sense of purpose that can be critical at a more mature age as well.
Published by Moving River Press and available at both Amazon.com and BoomersWalkabout.com, the 232 page book – available as an E-book as well – chronicles Crowe’s ramblings and ruminations as he attempted to regroup as his final child left for college and finds himself with an empty house in Kingston, MA and a bucket full of “what’s next”.
Crowe did what many have done to find a new perspective and clarity; he hit the open road. He explains, “After almost 40 years of building my life around what the family needed, I knew the infrastructure of my life would be radically different. So, I left it all behind, turned off all my gadgets, put my tent in the Smart Car and headed west. Over three months, I traveled over 13,000 miles (less than 800 on Interstates) by planes, trains and automobiles, and boats (missed the bus somehow).”
Crowe’s angst is far from dissimilar to many thoughtful Baby Boomer brethren. Baby Boomers (the post-World War II babies born between 1946 – 1964 and the world’s largest segment of our population) are graying and facing the autumn of life– and with greater expectations than bingo, soft, chewable food or receding into the background.
Crowe experienced many surprises along the way. He reminisces, “Amazingly, I did not listen to any of the music CDs I carefully chose. Just listening to the rhythm of the road, I discovered the ability to think of nothing. Create a vacuum and see what gets sucked in. I stayed in cheap motels, campgrounds, and with a few friends and family who helped me wrestle with my future. Most of the time, I ate in my hotel room or cooked at a campfire, sticking to healthy food, walking almost 150 miles and another 35 riding a bike. I had a lot of time to think about anything I wanted, old plans interrupted, new plans bursting, opportunities, constraints. It was strange to focus on myself for so long.”
The book takes the reader along Crowe’s travels, meandering geographically throughout the U.S. with experiences from disappointment to serendipity. It just may inspire you to start your own wanderings.
To purchase the book or for more information about “Where Does This Road Go – A Boomer’s Walkabout”, visit Amazon.com and BoomersWalkabout.com, or email Martin H. Crowe at MHCrowe@MindSpring.com.
Follow Us!