Sleeping Around .... Challenging My Comfort Zone

Sleeping Around is an inspirational biography of Marys global all seven continents adventures. Her frequent exclamation Defying death once again describes her close or dangerous encounters. Other times Mary is happy to have experienced a challenging adventure with simply a happy end-ing. The intent of this book is to intrigue the reader either through armchair enjoyment or creating an inspiration or motivation to those who may feel encouraged to follow in her footsteps. The cover photo taken during a dive trip by Photo Editor of the late Tucson Citizen Phares K. Weis III captures Mary awakening from a nights sleep on a cot outside a beachfront palapa in San Francisquito Baja. Sleeping Around is not a chronicle of cruising nor is it a travelogue. While Mary has enjoyed luxurious accommodations she has also has experienced coed bunks on dive boats yurts in Mongolia a filthy mosquito-infested room during a West Nile epidem-ic while being detained and then deported in Hanoi a penthouse apartment in Istanbul thatched-roof cabins in Costa Rica sleeping bags tents luxurious safari-type glamps and lodg-es ranging from basic to upscale and more.The reader should know that Marys learning to fly dive and travel solo to developing coun-tries was not a natural inclination. It was not until she was in her 30s that she evolved into an adrenaline junkie when she had to overcome fear and anxiety to find the motivation spurring her adventures.There is no pressure for the reader to follow Marys plunging into the oceans of the world to dive with sharks mantas saltwater crocs snakes and other underwater critters. Nor is there pressure to fly or jump out of an airplane soar fly an ultralight or bungee jump. If you are am-bivalent about throwing a fly rod jumping a tarpon explore distant countries on a bicycle or any of her other adventures perhaps youll feel like making an effort to learn by allowing Marys experiences to encourage you or perhaps youll simply enjoy reading about them. Fear concern and various levels of anxiety are common to all of us. The answer is to accept face and deal with it appropriately. As you become aware of your limitations or anxieties you can climb that wall to overcome that challenging experience. There is always the option to pass.If you come away from this book feeling inspired or entertained then Mary has done a good job of sharing her adventures and a lifetime of fun. Lets hope so.