The same river twice :

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Title :

The same river twice : a memoir of dirtbag backpackers, bomb shelters, and bad travel / Pam Mandel.

Title:

The same river twice :

Author:

Mandel, Pam

Format:

Books

Physical Description:

227 pages ; 24 cm

ISBN:

9781510760059

Production / Publication Information:

New York, N.Y. : Skyhorse Pub Co Inc, [2020]

Summary:

A product of beige California suburbs, Mandel was overlooked and unexceptional. When her father ships her off on a youth group tour of Israel, he inadvertently catapults his seventeen-year-old daughter into a world of angry European backpackers, seize-the-day Israelis, and the fall out of cold war-era politics. Border violence hadn't been on the birthright tour agenda. But then neither had domestic violence, going broke, getting wasted, getting sick, or getting lost. With no guidance and no particular plan, utterly unprepared for what lies ahead, Mandel says yes to everything and everyone, embarking on an adventure across three continents and thousands of miles, from a cold water London flat to rural Pakistan, from the Nile River Delta to the snowy peaks of Ladakh and finally, back home to California, determined to shape a life that is truly hers.

Language:

English

Genre:

Geographic Term:

Personal Subject:

Subject Term:

Jewish women -- Biography.

Kibbutzim -- Personal narratives.

Self-actualization (Psychology) -- Personal narratives.

Teenagers -- California -- Biography.

Teenagers -- Israel -- Biography.

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Material Type	Library	Call Number	Item Barcode	Location
Book	Searching... Andover - Memorial Hall Library	915 MAN	31330008979563	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Acclaimed travel writer Pam Mandel's thrilling account of a life-defining journey from the California suburbs to Israel to the Himalayan peaks and back.

Given the choice, Pam Mandel would say no and stay home. It was getting her nowhere, so she decided to say yes. Yes to hard work and hitch-hiking, to mean boyfriends and dirty travel, to unfolding the map and walking to its edges. Yes to unknown countries, night shifts, language lessons, bad decisions, to anything to make her feel real, visible, alive.

A product of beige California suburbs, Mandel was overlooked and unexceptional. When her father ships her off on a youth group tour of Israel, he inadvertently catapults his seventeen-year-old daughter into a world of angry European backpackers, seize-the-day Israelis, and the fall out of cold war-era politics. Border violence hadn't been on the birthright tour agenda. But then neither had domestic violence, going broke, getting wasted, getting sick, or getting lost.

With no guidance and no particular plan, utterly unprepared for what lies ahead, Mandel says yes to everything and everyone, embarking on an adventure across three continents and thousands of miles, from a cold water London flat to rural Pakistan, from the Nile River Delta to the snowy peaks of Ladakh and finally, back home to California, determined to shape a life that is truly hers.
An extraordinary memoir of going away and growing up, The Same River Twice follows Mandel's tangled journey and shows how travel teaches and changes us, even while it helps us become exactly who we have been all along.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Mandel, a travel writer and Nerd's Eye View blogger, recalls her tumultuous youth abroad in this edgy, unfiltered travel narrative. In high school, unmoored by her parents' divorce, Mandel shuffled between living with friends and family, failed classes, and snorted cocaine. Upon graduation, her "future a foggy wasteland," her parents sent her to a kibbutz in Israel. There, she found a sense of place and friendship among the travelers and locals, and fell in love with a young Israeli soldier. When they broke up, Mandel "felt displaced" again, and began a relationship with Alastair, an unemployed Brit in his 20s who was kicking around Israel. Alastair became abusive, and they traveled across Europe, then back to Israel, where Mandel had a miscarriage. She continued to travel with Alastair, including to Egypt and India, and on brief solo side-trips she felt "lighter" and "fearless," and finally determined to leave him and return to California and college. Mandel's introspective approach ("I was afraid... that I deserved everything I received") is leavened with wit about the role of "lost girls and boys." ("Wendy ends up getting the shitty end of things... sewing Peter Pan's shadow.") Rather than a pat conclusion, Mandel comes away with a mix of regret and "sheer wonder" about the memories and life experience her travels gave her. Messy but provocative, Mandel's chaotic coming-of-age story is emotionally hard to read, but also hard to put down. (Nov.)

Booklist Review

Travel writer Mandel tells a mesmerizing tale of youth adrift and the ways she used travel to find meaning in the world. A bookish yet ambitionless teen, Mandel is shipped off with a youth group to Israel by parents too caught up in their own problems to care much about her. Enjoying the hard work on a kibbutz, she chooses to stay, feeling there's nothing to return to in California. She takes up with Alistair, a British boy who unleashes his anger on her both verbally and physically. Substituting travel for purpose, they make their way through Europe and Asia by train, hitchhiking, and walking, taking on odd jobs for money. Navigating dangerous situations, Cold War--era political turmoil, and sickness, they rarely have a plan and are fortunate to receive help from numerous kind strangers. Mandel is adept at describing her surroundings, really putting readers right there with her. She also excels at capturing teenage turmoil and the feeling of being a secondary character in your own story. Memoir and travelogue readers will devour this.

Library Journal Review

As a 17-year-old high school graduate, Mandel (blogger, Nerd's Eye View) faced an uncertain future. Neither of her divorced parents offered her a home, so she was sent off to Israel to spend a year as an agricultural worker. This is not your usual travel memoir, but a narrative of a teen on a lonely and sometimes brutal journey to discover herself. It's 1980, and she fears for her physical safety and mental health, and that she has nowhere to return to once her year is up. She meets others in her travels, young adults who are unable to find work in their home counties. Good at languages and interested in art, she finds that lack of funds limits any enjoyment of the places she visits. She travels through Europe, Egypt, and India with an abusive boyfriend, staying with him because she has no other options. Her voice is compelling, authentic, and heartbreaking at times. Angry and depressed, she eventually returns to California, where her mother has remarried and her father is going to prison. VERDICT Young adults and college students who are considering a gap year will be interested in this cautionary coming-of-age story.--Susan Belsky, Oshkosh P.L., WI

Excerpts

Excerpted from The Same River Twice: A Memoir of Dirtbag Backpackers, Bomb Shelters, and Bad Travel by Pam Mandel All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Chapter 1 Welcome to Israel	p. 1
Chapter 2 Anywhere But Here	p. 5
Chapter 3 Graduation Present	p. 17
Chapter 4 Israeli Exit Strategy	p. 25
Chapter 5 American Girls, Israeli Boys	p. 37
Chapter 6 Language Lessons	p. 49
Chapter 7 No More Baklava	p. 59
Chapter 8 Mail Call	p. 71
Chapter 9 Lost Boys and Lost Girls	p. 79
Chapter 10 You Can't Go Home Again	p. 89
Chapter 11 Electric Avenue	p. 97
Chapter 12 Let's Go	p. 105
Chapter 13 Washed Up	p. 117
Chapter 14 Back to the Land	p. 123
Chapter 15 A Second Passport	p. 137
Chapter 16 Off the Map	p. 147
Chapter 17 The Hill Towns	p. 161
Chapter 18 To Touch the Sky	p. 177
Chapter 19 Back to the Gray	p. 193
Chapter 20 Not Quite Home	p. 201
Chapter 21 Back Where I Started	p. 213
Chapter 22 The Same River Twice	p. 219
Apologies and Acknowledgements	p. 225

Available:*

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Summary

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Booklist Review

Library Journal Review

Excerpts

Excerpts

Table of Contents