Untethered: A Woman’s Search for Self on the Edge of India

Journalist Stambush recounts her motorcycle adventure around the edge of India in this lively memoir. Over the course of 6,000 miles and 144 days, Stambush planned to locate and piece together the limbs of a sculpture of Hindi goddess Kali, which were housed at temples along her route. Doing so, she hoped, would shake up her “sedate” and “predictable” life and invigorate her with fresh spiritual purpose. It certainly provided plenty of challenges: in Pushkar, she lost her journal and her camera. In Goa, she met and fell for an unavailable restaurateur. Near Madras, she crashed her motorcycle and tore up her knee. Struggling to meet her timeline post-injury, Stambush abandoned her original plan and accepted the journey itself as her final destination: “Being on the road, on my own day after day, was what made me strong and whole.” Captured in a confident tone and detail-rich language, Stambush’s exploits are moving and memorable. Travel aficionados and those in search of an Eat, Pray, Love–style escape, take note. (Self-published)