ADVENTURE DIVAS: SEARCHING THE GLOBE FOR WOMEN WHO ARE CHANGING THE WORLD
by Holly Morris
Reviewed by Carianne Carleo-Evangelist
In Adventure Divas: Searching the Globe for Women Who Are Changing the World, Holly Morris gives us a
different kind of travel book. While many travelogues recount the author's own stories and
experiences, including some interactions with people met on the road, Morris uses her book specifically
as a vehicle to for telling the stories of the women she met.
Morris left her job to make this trip. She met an interesting array of characters, and I am certain
that a number of them ultimately did not fit within the constraints of the book. The women on whom Morris
focuses serve as a window into their cultures. For example, a publisher in Iran must deal not only with
the everyday challenges of publishing, but also with issues encountered in producing to a feminist magazine
in a country that does not traditionally promote the role of women. Then there is Hinewehi Mohi, a Maori
musician in New Zealand who seeks to overcome the her country's cultural divisions through her music.
These women are not just doing their daily work; they are changing things for those around them.
In several instances, Morris takes on the experiences of the Divas she is studying. She hunts for wild boar
in Borneo, climbs the Matterhorn, and enters a camel race in the Sahara. In doing so, she not only showcases
what these women do but also provides greater insight into the challenges faced in these activities and
illustrates how exotic some women's day-to-day life can be.
The theme of Morris's book is that work for some women — playing many roles and in
many countries throughout the world — is indeed an adventure. It can be challenging to explore
the world without having one's preconceptions cloud the picture, but Morris works hard to avoid
stereotypes. In Adventure Divas, she succeeds in offering her readers an unusual take on the traditional
field of travel writing.
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