★★★★
I chose the name Dame Traveler because I wanted to exemplify strength, selflessness, and courage.
Nastasia Yakoub is the founder of the Dame Traveler – a travel blog for women adventuring across the world.
She empowers women to travel – alone – anywhere and every where.
But, she was not always the bold and daring woman she is today.
For as long as I remember, I have felt out of place.
Once, the wildest thing she could imagine was attending nursing school away from the family.
Then, an accident happens and Nastasia finds that freedom taken away...and she began traveling and hasn’t stopped since.
The actual text of this book was rather short (though really interesting!).
We get a three page introduction to Nastasia’s life and learn a little bit about what it was like to travel on her own for the first time.
While it was cool to learn about her…I really wish I would have gotten more.
I’ve never heard of the Dame Traveler instagram/blog until this book so I would’ve appreciated a stronger narrative to orient me to her blog and her lifestyle.
And a bit of a narrative linking the images together would’ve really made it pop for me.
When a woman travels solo, she throws fear to the wind and trusts the universe to protect her while she uses her instincts….
From there we go into a laundry list of safety tips for solo women travelers, such as: staying with female hosts, what to do if you are followed and how to pack for an emergency.
While those tips were rather helpful, it was a bit disconcerting to go from Nastasia’s wonderful view on traveling to a completely different vibe (BE CAREFUL – BE VERY CAREFUL).
It took me aback and made me realize just how much a woman needs to take into account if she wants to go alone. It was a little spooky.
And now *drum roll* the images in this book. Wow.
This has to be the most aesthetically pleasing books I have ever seen.
Each page had an absolutely stunning picture of a woman traveling on her own across the globe.
The locations were amazing, the way Nastasia assembled the color coordination is beautiful and the overall vibe is just gorgeous!
Overall, this was the perfect book to feed your wanderlust while keeping quarantine! .
A huge thank you to Mimi from Goodreads for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
Miranda Reads 