The Lost Girls - by Jennifer Baggett & Holly C Corbett & Amanda Pressner (Paperback)

About the Book

Jen, Holly, and Amanda are at a crossroads, feeling the pressure to hit certain milestones--scoring a big promotion, finding a soul mate, having 2.2 kids--before they reach their early 30s. When personal challenges force them to reevaluate their lives, they journey 60,000 miles across four continents on a search for inspiration and direction.

Book Synopsis

"A triumphant journey about losing yourself, finding yourself and coming home again. Hitch yourself to their ride: you'll embark on a transformative journey of your own." -- Allison Winn Scotch, New York Times bestselling author of The One That I Want and Time of My Life

Three friends, each on the brink of a quarter-life crisis, make a pact to quit their high pressure New York City media jobs and leave behind their friends, boyfriends, and everything familiar to embark on a year-long backpacking adventure around the world in The Lost Girls.

With their thirtieth birthdays looming, Jen, Holly, and Amanda are feeling the pressure to hit certain milestones--score the big promotion, find a soul mate, have 2.2 kids. Instead, in this inspiring travelogue, they make a pact to quit their jobs and set out on a journey in search of inspiration and direction.

Traveling 60,000 miles across four continents, Jen, Holly, and Amanda push themselves far outside their comfort zones to embrace every adventure. Ultimately, theirs is a story of true friendship--a bond forged by sharing beds and backpacks, enduring exotic illnesses, trekking across mountains, and standing by one another through heartaches, whirlwind romances, and everything in the world in between.

One pact. Three plane tickets. A 60,000-mile search for answers that will inspire anyone who has ever felt lost.

• Quarter-Life Crisis: Feeling the pressure to score the big promotion and find a soul mate, Jen, Holly, and Amanda decide to trade the life they have for the one they can only imagine.
• A Grown-Up Gap Year: Witness a 60,000-mile, four-continent backpacking adventure that pushes three women far outside their comfort zones as they search for inspiration and direction.
• Unbreakable Friendship: Theirs is a story of a bond forged by sharing backpacks, enduring exotic illnesses, trekking across mountains, and navigating whirlwind romances together.
• Inspirational Journey: A powerful travel memoir for anyone who has ever wondered if they were on the right path--or if the road less traveled was the one they were meant to follow all along.

From the Back Cover

With their thirtieth birthdays looming, Jen, Holly, and Amanda are feeling the pressure to hit certain milestones--score the big promotion, find a soul mate, have 2.2 kids. Instead, they make a pact to quit their jobs, leave behind everything familiar, and embark on a yearlong round-the-world search for inspiration and direction.

Traveling 60,000 miles across four continents, Jen, Holly, and Amanda push themselves far outside their comfort zones to embrace every adventure. Ultimately, theirs is a story of true friendship--a bond forged by sharing beds and backpacks, enduring exotic illnesses, trekking across mountains, and standing by one another through heartaches, whirlwind romances, and everything in the world in between.

Review Quotes

"Brave, funny, and deeply moving, THE LOST GIRLS is a real-life fairy tale for anyone who's ever wanted to chuck it all and see the world with a best friend on each arm." - Cathy Alter, author of Up for Renewal: What Magazines Taught Me About Love, Sex, and Starting Over

"For anyone-young or old, female or male-who has ever been tempted to trade in the rat race for the thrill and adventure of long-term global travel. And after reading this book, don't be surprised if you want to do just that." - David Farley, author of An Irreverent Curiosity

"Warning. This book comes with potentially serious side effects, including chronic wanderlust; severe allergic reactions to the daily grind; and an incurable desire to toss that Blackberry down a sewer drain, grab a backpack, and embrace this amazing planet of ours. Three cheers to the Lost Girls for showing us, with good humor and graceful prose, the beauty and importance of leading life astray." - Franz Wisner, New York Times Bestselling author of Honeymoon with My Brother

"[P]otentially serious side effects [include] chronic wanderlust; severe allergic reactions to the daily grind; and an incurable desire to toss that Blackberry down a drain....Three cheers to the Lost Girls for showing us, with good humor and graceful prose, the beauty and importance of leading life astray." - Franz Wisner, New York Times Bestselling author of Honeymoon with My Brother

"The Lost Girls captures the generational struggle so many twentysomethings face as they try to find their way with no clear map. I ... found myself cheering as they discovered more than they could have bargained for." - Laura Dave, author of The Divorce Party

"A triumphant journey about losing yourself, finding yourself and coming home again. Hitch yourself to their ride: you'll embark on a transformative journey of your own." - Allison Winn Scotch, New York Times bestselling author of The One That I Want and Time of My Life

"I've often said that when it comes to travel (and most other things), a goal is a dream with a deadline, but the Lost Girls have gone one step further-they put many other goals on hold to pursue a much bigger one. They literally checked out of their homes, their conventional lives, their boyfriends, and checked out the world instead...without a wad of brochures or a traditional guidebook. The best travel adventures, the most memorable experiences happen when things don't go according to plan. And that's why I love this book." - Peter Greenberg, Travel Editor, CBS News

"...[W]hen it comes to travel (and most other things), a goal is a dream with a deadline, but the Lost Girls have gone one step further....The best travel adventures, the most memorable experiences happen when things don't go according to plan. That's why I love this book." - Peter Greenberg, Travel Editor, CBS News

"...Jen, Holly and Amanda's lively accounts make for the ideal armchair journey." - Booklist

"The three authors, all gifted writers...provide passionate, vivid descriptions of their far-flung travels, bolstered by thoughtful insights and genuine intentions, making this an intensely enjoyable read for fans of travel writing....immediately relatable for any twenty-something unsure of his or her future (i.e., most of them)." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Jennifer, Holly and Amanda have had the adventure of their lives." - Los Angeles Times

"...the real appeal of the story is the long road they take together, each supporting the others on a soul-searching quest to create a life that matters." - BookPage