The Soul of Adventure

About the Book

How many times have we heard someone say wistfully, “I always wanted to go there.” Whether it be Europe, Asia or Africa. I had to do it. I sold off everything in my apartment for a one-way ticket to Dakkar, Senegal, and started my journey with a backpack of basic supplies and nine hundred dollars. I traveled for two years and learned that what sustained me was not what I carried on my back.

It’s a coming of age tale. A true story about becoming a man and shaping a psyche within the dichotomy of vulnerability and invincibility that is inherent to travel. I grappled with the sensation of having to simultaneously shed youthful naiveté and absorb world truths. I confronted the issue of my race and culture and the meaning of my black heritage. I was the blue-eyed, “he-not-African” man in the bush of Sierra Leone, and also the nearly starving, far-from-wealthy American hustler in Europe and Asia.

The culmination of my experiences reveals the common core of human motivation and points to the human ability to shape our reactive natures. This books tells the first segment of my journey.

About the Author

Gary B. Hudson originated from the southside of Chicago. At the age of eight, his family moved to Aspen, Colorado and became one of the few black families in town. Since grade school, Hudson faced the issue of identity and race while developing a love for storytelling. Unable to hold off, he left his job and school to embark on a journey of the world. His first-hand study of cultures and religions extended the journey for over two years and helped to shape his perception of human existence. He has written poetry, several short stories, and completed several screenplays and non-fiction books. With his writing, he continues the investigation of personal and social truths and strives to arrive at the core of human motivation.