Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Book Review: Karen Stilson Armour's Traveling Solo, Faith not Fear

Karen Stilson Armour will be discussing her writings and signing books on Sat. March 31 from 9:30 AM to 2 PM at First Church of Christ, 585 E. North St., Owosso.

Karen Stilson Armour loves traveling around the world.

But she’s not your average tourist, going to museums and fancy urban shopping areas – she likes more obscure places, in Africa, Central America and the South Pacific.

You’re not likely to find her with groups of other tourists either; the Haslett resident likes to travel alone, which provides a wide variety of interesting experiences.

“Traveling Solo: Faith not Fear” (Xulon Press, $14.99 Kindle $7.49) is a well-produced, slim, self-published paperback that’s full of many travel anecdotes and numerous intriguing photographs.

Subtitled “Fearless Faith by Trusting God”, Armour intertwines her religious viewpoints in a unique book that also explores conquering fear utilizing spiritual insights.

It’s an unusual mixture: Armour noted that there were many current books on traveling solo and lots of books on building relationships with God, but none that combined the best aspects of both areas.

Armour’s deftly relates her vivid travel recollections of her solo adventures, offering a memorable mixture of humorous and amazing personal experiences.

She methodically lists 10 reasons why traveling solo is advantageous, including unexpected discoveries, more free time, greater casual conversational and personal encounters and additional time for people watching.
Additional expense is the major disadvantage; costs can be significantly higher without accompaniment.

Armour covers an assortment of other travel aspects, including destination choice, health concerns, attire, safety, traveling light and the challenges of pre-packaged tours.

The author includes a wide variety of relevant travel quotes from famous people such as Mark Twain, Margaret Mead and Khalil Gibran; related biblical verse quotes are interspersed through parts of the text.

The remarkable photographs are quite striking, with great images that the average tourist is not going to be able to capture. Photos include snake charmers in Morocco, the camel market in Egypt and interesting Tanzanians, as well as lions, giraffes, zebras and a rhino.

Armour stresses the importance of her beliefs that trusting God is the way to conquering fear; she provides a brief section of questions and topics for discussion.

More information can be found at her website, www.karenstilsonarmour.com

Ray Walsh, owner of East Lansing’s Curious Book Shop, 
has reviewed Michigan books and crime novels regularly since 1987.


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