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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
It's interesting going into a book cold based solely on a recommendation from a friend, reading it, and then looking up the author and finding out that there's a good bit of controversy around her. This was a library loan and kept me entertained for the ~7 hours it took for me to listen to the Audiobook. Understanding now that a big part of her online personality is her dogs the disproportionate amount of time spent discussing her dog's accident makes sense but was the least interesting part of the book for me and is the main cause for the rating.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Drug use, Gore, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
fast-paced
I had no idea who Brianna Madia is when I checked this book out. I like travel writing and the idea of van life has always intrigued me, and this book was featured on my local library's Libby page, so I gave it a try. I was starting to sour on the book, mainly for writing reasons and general lack of travel writing content in the book, and then I found out that her husband ran over their dog with their van, and they later benefited from a hefty GoFundMe started in the dog's honor. Madia explains all the nuance in the book and seems to regret her actions, but the whole event confirmed for me some of the sketchy vibes I was already beginning to pick up. I'm mature enough to know that some people just suck and it's none of my business, but that was really the point where the book stopped being flawed but kind of fun, and started to feel like a shitty book about a shitty person.
So many emotions felt in this incredibly written memoir. Her word choice put me right there next to her during her many adventures, so Im thinking that another trip to the Utah desert sounds really good about now.
I am not a follower of Brianna. I’d never heard of her before reading this book. I was scrolling through audio book titles at my library and the description sounded like something I’d be into. As someone that’s chosen a somewhat unconventional life path for the past several years, though not to the level of Brianna, I thought I’d really connect with her story.
Instead, I found myself thinking “she sounds really irresponsible”, which made me feel like the oldest of old men. I was annoyed with Brianna for living the stereotypical influencer lifestyle, which reflects poorly on all us that don’t follow the 9-5 path. Somehow, the Instagram account and how it became something that could support her lifestyle in the desert, is largely glossed over. But she spends plenty of time describing the life-changing moment that was her dog's near death experience (that she and her husband were somewhat responsible for). Her tearful voice and gut-wrenching imagery feels almost manipulative, a desperate attempt to get the reader on her side by overexposing her pain.
She made dozens of terrible choices, but her legion of fans were there to bail her out, particularly when it came to Dagwood’s vet bills. Upon finishing it and researching her life beyond the carefully curated and edited stories for the book, I see that my suspicions were correct. That being said, it’s an interested look at the cult-like following of influencers, even if that’s not what Brianna intended with this book.
There’s nothing wrong with reading the memoir of a flawed person. I’m sure many will connect with her middle-class upbringing that actually isn’t as perfect as it seems from the outside. They’ll connect with her patterns of self destruction. But many will read “Nowhere for Very Long” and be inspired to embark on a similar lifestyle.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting something more than the capitalist prison we live in, but Brianna isn’t leading anyone out of it. She is profiting from people’s longing for something better, documenting a sanitized version (even when the awful bits are shown) of her hippie lifestyle all while living it up from sponsored posts from the corporations we are supposed to be fighting. Again, there’s nothing wrong with reading Brianna’s story and connecting with it, but I truly hope that it doesn’t serve as an advertisement for vanlife or any unconventional lifestyle.
Instead, I found myself thinking “she sounds really irresponsible”, which made me feel like the oldest of old men. I was annoyed with Brianna for living the stereotypical influencer lifestyle, which reflects poorly on all us that don’t follow the 9-5 path. Somehow, the Instagram account and how it became something that could support her lifestyle in the desert, is largely glossed over. But she spends plenty of time describing the life-changing moment that was her dog's near death experience (that she and her husband were somewhat responsible for). Her tearful voice and gut-wrenching imagery feels almost manipulative, a desperate attempt to get the reader on her side by overexposing her pain.
She made dozens of terrible choices, but her legion of fans were there to bail her out, particularly when it came to Dagwood’s vet bills. Upon finishing it and researching her life beyond the carefully curated and edited stories for the book, I see that my suspicions were correct. That being said, it’s an interested look at the cult-like following of influencers, even if that’s not what Brianna intended with this book.
There’s nothing wrong with reading the memoir of a flawed person. I’m sure many will connect with her middle-class upbringing that actually isn’t as perfect as it seems from the outside. They’ll connect with her patterns of self destruction. But many will read “Nowhere for Very Long” and be inspired to embark on a similar lifestyle.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting something more than the capitalist prison we live in, but Brianna isn’t leading anyone out of it. She is profiting from people’s longing for something better, documenting a sanitized version (even when the awful bits are shown) of her hippie lifestyle all while living it up from sponsored posts from the corporations we are supposed to be fighting. Again, there’s nothing wrong with reading Brianna’s story and connecting with it, but I truly hope that it doesn’t serve as an advertisement for vanlife or any unconventional lifestyle.
Each chapter read like a long high school essay where the student was tasked with adding as many adjectives as possible to their work, which did not produce the best. For what could have been an interesting read of an unconventional life, I felt disappointed by the lack of cohesiveness between chapters and narratives that didn’t really go anywhere
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
I enjoy reading books about people who live a totally different life than I do