I’ve always enjoyed accounts of peoples travel experiences, for some reason, this particularly applies to road trips. I’m a big fan of Paul Theroux’s many adventures, and though this author was new to me, his adventure pricked my interest. John W. Butler's is perhaps better known to those who live stateside. He owns and runs a radio station in Texas, and as well as interviewing people for his show he’s travelled widely around the world. This trip was inspired by Steinbeck’s book Travels with Charley, written in 1961. The famous scribbler had set out with his French poodle to ‘discover’ the country he’d lived in and written about for many years. John decided he wanted some discovery of his own and set out on a long (over 30,000 miles) journey around America.

He purchased a large Airstream motor coach and set off from Chesapeake Bay, in the north east, with a plan that seemed to embrace a trip around the perimeter states. Because of some issues with his wagon, this turned out to be a roughly clockwise route, interrupted in the high north west of the country by weather, and completed with a run up through the central states, from his Texas home, and a then quick dive east to complete his quest. It was a journey that took him around two years to complete, with a forced break at one point due to a medical emergency

What’s Here:

- Some history relating to the places he visits or simply passes through, and reflections on the differences and similarities he notices as he travels

- A good deal of positivity about America: what it is, how it got there

- Lots of reflections on the people he met along the way – some very briefly and others more formally or for longer

- Much on the joy of travel, of moving place to place, on seeing things for the first time or re-visiting places much loved, and on the pleasures and challenges of being on the road alone

- An insight into his life – one replete with a mixture of tragedy and success

What’s not here:

- Details of long, insightful conversations – most are short and carry no real weight, though there are a couple of exceptions

- Political comment or views expressed by people he met – which I felt a somewhat strange omission, given the journey had begun literally as Trump was elected to his first term as president

- Any real observations on America’s darker underbelly, other than brief reflections on homelessness and drug use

- Any assessment of his country’s strengths and weaknesses

John is a man of faith, and it’s clearly helped him deal with the real challenges he‘s faced in his life. He’s open and honest about some dark and difficult moments in his life. I found this to be hugely touching and insightful. I really enjoyed my time with him, genuinely feeling that I was sharing this extended trip. I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys tales of travel or who simply wants to connect with a man who has worked his way through a life that has delivered significant highs and lows. John, it seems, has dealt with this extremely well. I’m sure I’ll reflect on his story for quite some time.