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The Healing Powers of Travel & Connection
Belonging to the World is an inspirational travel memoir that shares your journey of healing after the tragic loss of your wife and your mission to travel to all 193 countries on earth, and the personal transformation you experience. Why was this an important book for you to write?
I did not start out traveling to write a book, but rather as a means of escape. It was one year into my journey, after a compelling trip to Afghanistan only a year after the Taliban takeover, that I realized that I was really “living” again, learning and, most of all, collecting stories. At that point, I realized that there was an evolving story that I needed to tell. It was about the healing powers of travel and connection.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
Sure, other than specific profound connections with people from everyday life in countries all over the world, below are some themes and ideas that kept coming to the surface:
Ø The unexpected and transformative power of grief
Ø Letting go of control brings unexpected peak experiences around the world
Ø Finding awe and wonder in the world’s places considered some of the world’s most dangerous
Ø The best things in life can happen by chance if you let them
Ø Reconciling a world that feels deeply divided yet profoundly interconnected
Ø How do we honor the past yet be ready to step into what may come next
Ø How the world can change you if you let it
What was the most challenging part of writing your memoir, and what was the most rewarding?
It took me a while in my journey to understand that I wasn’t simply seeking new countries, but the people within them. With that came the anticipation of finding the one story in each place that resonated with me, my story, shaped by my own impressions and by the mystery of how and when it would reveal itself. Somehow, it always did.
I found that profoundly moving: the realization that if you seek people and their wisdom with an open heart and genuine respect, you will find it.
How has writing your memoir impacted or changed your life?
I am sure for many writers, the release of a book is the end of a big project. For me it is end of a significant entire chapter of my life, of devastating loss, of being lost, of leaning into grief and going on a amazing journey. That journey completely rewired my brain and changed the way I see the world and my place in it.
Author Links: GoodReads | Instagram | Website
Some journeys we choose. Others choose us.
In the aftermath of tragedy, Barry Hoffner wanted to feel the pulse of the world again. The whole world.
When Barry Hoffner lost his wife and travel partner, Jackie, in a sudden tragedy, his grief was a black hole that consumed everything. But amid the quiet wreckage of loss, something unexpected stirred: the call to move, to reconnect, and to live fully again.
What began as a reluctant return to the road became an audacious mission to visit all 193 countries on Earth-not to escape his pain but to transform it. Along the way, Barry discovered a world with far more depth and complexity than headlines suggest-one full of unexpected joy, even amid hardship and struggle. From war zones to mountaintops, refugee camps to ancient ruins, he found people whose kindness and openness brought him back to life.
Belonging to the World is a deeply felt memoir of healing from grief, finding resilience, and forging human connection across the globe
Belonging to the World
Belonging to the World follows Barry Hoffner’s journey from the sudden loss of his wife, Jackie, to an unexpected path of healing as he travels to every country on earth. The book opens with the shattering grief of Jackie’s death and the dark, disorienting months that follow, then widens into a story about connection, curiosity, and the raw power of human kindness. Hoffner moves through deserts in Oman, chaos and beauty in Afghanistan, warmth in Syria, wonder in Bhutan, and countless small moments of humanity that tell him he still belongs to the world, even when he feels unmoored from it. It is both a memoir of loss and a chronicle of awe, written with honesty and a clear desire to understand people wherever he goes.
As I read, I felt pulled into his emotional rhythm. Sometimes he writes with a quiet weight, almost like he is whispering because the grief is still too close. Other times, he throws himself into a scene with bright energy, like he is hungry to feel alive again. I found that mix moving. It mirrors how grief actually behaves. It hits hard, then softens, then surprises you all over again. The travel stories aren’t just pretty postcard moments. They are the places where he bumps into his own pain and also where he finds these tiny sparks of connection. I loved how often strangers show up at the perfect time. It made me think about how people everywhere have this instinct to reach toward someone who hurts.
I also appreciated the simplicity of the writing. He doesn’t try to sound wise or polished, and I liked that. It feels like someone telling you the truth as they live it. The chapters unfold quickly, each country arriving like a new test or a new chance. I sometimes wished he lingered longer, especially in the places that clearly changed him. But the pace also reflects his state of mind. After loss, standing still can feel dangerous. Moving forward feels like survival. And the way he carries Jackie with him in every experience made me ache. It never felt sentimental. It felt real.
By the end, I had this sense that the world he traveled through became less a map and more a mirror. Every landscape, every border crossing, every shared meal made him a little braver and a little softer. I didn’t finish the book thinking about travel as a checklist. I finished it thinking about how connection works. How people can stitch you back together without even knowing they’re doing it. How a life can shift from broken to open if you let yourself keep going, one unfamiliar place at a time.
I would recommend Belonging to the World to anyone traveling through grief, anyone who loves travel stories with heart, and anyone who wants to see the world as more generous than the headlines make it seem. It’s especially good for readers who don’t need tidy lessons and who are comfortable walking beside someone still figuring it all out. The book feels like a companion for anyone trying to rebuild after life comes apart.
Pages: 405 | ASIN : B0FZNNDF5L
