Getting to Know Colombia. A story of loss and discovery - Raphael Wilkins

A story of loss and discovery which is part memoir and part travelogue. In the wake of losing his wife Mary the author accepted an unexpected invitation to travel to Colombia. This became both a journey through the Colombian Andes and also one through the stages of bereavement. How does a person mourn when their leading emotion is relief? After being trapped by circumstances into caring for, in isolation, a complex and reclusive partner, the author was released by her death but only into disorientation. The chance offer from an old acquaintance led to an exotic travel experience, and a culture and landscape so stunning that everything had to be brought into a different perspective.

This frank and poignant memoir will appeal to people who enjoy reflective travel literature, to those who have had ‘complex’ bereavements, people interested in the reflections and choices of later life, It is for those who are drawn to lose and find themselves through travel to exotic locations. Within the travel book genre, it is the first book of reflective travel writing about Colombia in the round: previous books have concentrated on narco-crime in the region.