From Saginaw to Srinagar

<p>A college graduate with no job prospects and no boyfriend Marilyn Murphy was bored and dispirited living back with her parents in her Midwest hometown.</p><p>And then an old friend threw her an unexpected lifeline: Meet me in the Philippines-we'll travel through Asia together.</p><p>It did not go as planned. This engaging memoir captures the adventures and misadventures of her eight-month saga as a solo traveler that became a profound voyage of self-discovery. This is her story of circumnavigating the globe starting as an insecure sheltered small-town girl who relied on her wits and her gumption to find her way returning home as a gutsy confident young woman.</p><p>Along the way Murphy encounters coconut monkeys purse snatchers and a woman in a head-to-toe hijab. She tastes lumpia laksa and fiery hot curries for the first time. Every day brought new sounds sights and sensations-all opportunities for personal transformation.</p><p>There is so much to experience and learn about the world-both without and within. But you won't discover it unless you leave home and everything you've known. Follow your inner compass. Take a risk. Go! Just go!</p>