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Wide-Open World: How Volunteering Around the Globe Changed One Family's Lives Forever Audiobook
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His twenty-year marriage was floundering. His two teenage kids were lost in cyberspace most of the time. He felt disconnected from his work, his family, his life. Which is when he had an idea: Let's volunteer our way around the world. John Marshall had read about the growth of voluntourism, and frankly, it was the only kind of extended trip he could afford. He'd heard that some peoples' lives were changed by a week of overseas service-what might half a year accomplish for his family? His wife Traca was all in favor of it; his kids, especially his 14-year-old daughter, were strongly opposed. WIDE-OPEN WORLD is the totally engaging, bluntly honest story of the Marshall family's life-changing adventure: six months of world travel, volunteering their way from Costa Rica to New Zealand to East Asia, how it went and what it led to. As Marshall discovered, he and his family did not change the world; the world changed them.
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“Marshall’s use of rich details locates readers firmly in each time and place, enabling them to sense the adventure, wonder, and joy he experienced in his surroundings and in watching his children grow into hardworking, more responsible teens, as well as the frustrations and disappointments he and his family inevitably encountered along the way. A great armchair adventure that should inspire others to consider voluntourism as a way to help others and see the world.”
— Kirkus Reviews
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“What a six months! As they work at an animal sanctuary in Costa Rica, on organic farms in New Zealand, and with orphans in India, each new location combines beautiful scenery with a dose of sentiment, a good deal of humor, and some heartfelt consideration of the human condition…His philosophy may not fit everyone and the ending is bittersweet, but this is an enticing call to service.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Wide-Open World is an adventure made up of countless small moments of human connection. It’s an armchair travelogue that may well inspire you to do good off the beaten path.”
— BookPage -
“Marshall’s performance is accessible and self-effacing…Marshall’s rendition of the Thai children running around screaming ‘foreigner’ in Thai because they’ve never seen one before is hysterical. Most heartwarming is Marshall’s experience in an Indian orphanage, where the children call him ‘uncle’ and put down stones so he never needs to walk in the mud. The singsong Indian accent the author adopts for those children is both adorable and renders his love for them.”
— AudioFile
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About John Marshall
John Marshall is a nine-time Emmy Award–winning writer, producer, and director. In addition to his work behind the camera, Marshall has been a familiar face on Maine television for more than ten years, writing and hosting numerous weekly TV shows. Wide-Open World is his first book.