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Traveling with Ghosts
Traveling with Ghosts: A Memoir | Shannon Leone Fowler
22 posts | 13 read | 106 to read
From grief to reckoning to reflection to solace, a marine biologist shares the solo journey she tookthrough war-ravaged Eastern Europe, Israel, and beyondto find peace after her fianc suffered a fatal attack by a box jellyfish in Thailand. In the summer of 2002, Shannon Leone Fowler, a twenty-eight-year-old marine biologist, was backpacking with her fianc and love of her life, Sean. Sean was a tall, blue-eyed, warmhearted Australian, and he and Shannon planned to return to Australia after their excursion to Koh Pha Ngan, Thailand. Their plans, however, were devastatingly derailed when a box jellyfishthe most venomous animal in the worldwrapped around Seans leg, stinging and killing him in a matter of minutes as Shannon helplessly watched. Rejecting the Thai authorities attempt to label Seans death a drunk drowning, Shannon ferried his body home to his stunned familya family to which she suddenly no longer belonged. Shattered and untethered, Shannons life paused indefinitely so that she could travel around the world to find healing. Travel had forged her relationship with Sean, and she hoped it could also aid in processing his death. Though Sean wasnt with Shannon, he was everywhere she wentamong the places she visited were O?wi?cim, Poland (the site of Auschwitz); war-torn Israel; shelled-out Bosnia; poverty-stricken Romania; and finally to Barcelona, where she first met Sean years before. Ultimately, Shannon had to confront the ocean after her lifes first great love took her second great love away. Cheryl Strayeds Wild meets Helen Macdonalds H Is for Hawk in this beautiful, profoundly moving memorial to those we have lost on our journeys and the unexpected ways their presence echoes in all placesand voyagesbig and small.
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tbells20
Traveling with Ghosts: A Memoir | Shannon Leone Fowler
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Starting an hour late, but that's ok! Starting this book for the #readathon

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Cinfhen
Traveling with Ghosts: A Memoir | Shannon Leone Fowler
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#MOvember A young woman is left grief stricken and utterly alone in Thailand, when in a matter of seconds, her life is tragically altered after her fiancé has a deadly reaction to a jellyfish bite. This is Shannon‘s account of those incomprehensible days, weeks and months trying to move forward without the person you love most. #IllRemember Such a poignant memoir. #NonfictionNovember

BarbaraBB Wait. I haven‘t seen your December list.... are these the last days of your challenge already? I thought we‘d had another month.. 😳? 😘 4y
BarbaraBB Also, great lyrics. I don‘t know this song, I think. 4y
Cinfhen Yes @BarbaraBB my December cohost needed to back out and I decided to just end with Madonna. It‘s been a long time and I‘m ready to slow down 😘💕 4y
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BarbaraBB I must have misinterpreted your earlier post but you are right of course 😀 And the theme and prompts are the best ones to end with! It just takes some getting used to. I haven‘t participated each day, but I have been enjoying this challenge so much!! 4y
julesG Whaaaaaaaaat???? Now I feel like I should jump in. Like @BarbaraBB I haven't posted each day, but your photochallenges brought me out of my corner to join the Litsy community in full. 4y
vivastory No more photochallenges? 😭😥😢I understand why you would want to step back, how long have you been doing them? I feel honored to have co-hosted with you 4y
Cinfhen Since April 2017 @vivastory it‘s been a great run and I loved hanging out with so many fabulous people @julesG @BarbaraBB 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰I‘m really going to miss the daily banter 4y
Suet624 Wow! This is big news! I feel as though your challenge put so many books into my TBR stack. The entries were always so thoughtful and invited me to learn about books I‘d never heard of. Thank you so much for all the love you put into keeping it running. 4y
Cinfhen Thanks so much @Suet624 That means a lot to me xx 😘 My TBR EXPLODED as well 📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚 4y
Chrissyreadit Ahhh!! I had no idea this would end. But of course you have a life. I just thought I would jump back in one day... 4y
85 likes1 stack add10 comments
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Cinfhen
Traveling with Ghosts: A Memoir | Shannon Leone Fowler
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Pickpick

#MarchIntothe70s Shannon Fowler, a marine biologist studying to get her PHD was backpacking through Asia with her fiancé when a freak accident altered her world. Not a #barracuda but a box jellyfish stung Sean while they were wading knee deep in the waters of Thailand, leaving him dead within minutes. Truly alone, Shannon embarks on a pilgrimage of war torn countries to find solace and “to see what survival looked like.” ???

britt_brooke How devastating! 😔 5y
Cinfhen Parts of the memoir are repetitive but Shannon writes beautifully and passionately and her pain still feels so fresh & raw some 15 years later. It‘s fascinating to read about her travels to countries were the citizens understand pain and loss at a young age. She was 27 her fiancé was days shy of 26 @britt_brooke It‘s an #infinitetissueread (edited) 5y
TrishB Wow 😮💔 5y
Lizpixie Those jellyfish are lethal, and so small too. It‘s terrifying what can kill you in the tropics.🦈🐡🕷🐍 5y
94 likes3 stack adds5 comments
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Cinfhen
Traveling with Ghosts: A Memoir | Shannon Leone Fowler
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I‘m not sure how I found this book but wow, am I glad I did. A young woman is left grief stricken, when in a matter of seconds her life is devastatingly altered after her fiancé has a deadly reaction to a jellyfish bite. I‘m warmed by the kindest of strangers and their steadfast determination to protect the author while she grapples with the Thai bureaucracy. Halfway done listening and the tears have been flowing. #Hoopla #Audio

Soubhiville Sounds good! I‘m going to look for it! 5y
KarenUK Had this on my TBR for a long time.... sounded so good, but as always, I end up avoiding books with husbands dying... just never quite brave enough to dive in.... 5y
Cinfhen Completely understandable @KarenUK 😢😢hope you are able to find a copy @Soubhiville let me know if & when you do. ❤️ 5y
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UrsulaMonarch
Traveling with Ghosts: A Memoir | Shannon Leone Fowler
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This book has a lot of different aspects, mainly about grieving, but the author is a marine biologist, so there's also plenty of that topic, like her descriptions of an octopus she's studied! 🐙💜🐙💜🐙

readordierachel Fascinating! They are such smart creatures. 6y
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UrsulaMonarch
Traveling with Ghosts: A Memoir | Shannon Leone Fowler
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I don't know why my expectations were low - wariness of a grief/travel memoir? - but this book so far exceeded them that I was blown away. I thought the author did a masterful job describing her relationship with the sea, with her fiancé, and with her own and others' grief processes. Each component was fascinating and often devastating.

Third book completed for #24in48

Thanks to @thereadingwomen for highlighting this book.

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UrsulaMonarch
Traveling with Ghosts: A Memoir | Shannon Leone Fowler
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I'm really enjoying this book but I also feel like I should "save" it for #24in48 ! ? 5 hours!

Betty Take a nap 6y
UrsulaMonarch @Betty that is EXCELLENT advice - my 8 week old dictates my schedule at the moment, so maybe I'll nap whenever his next nap is! 😊😴 6y
L_auren Yes 😂 I don‘t watch much tv but I cleared my queue so I‘ll have nothing to watch this weekend 6y
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Rachellynnwright Yes I do, just for the day! I spend time prepping and napping :) 6y
UrsulaMonarch @L_auren love that prep!! 👏👏👏 6y
UrsulaMonarch @Rachellynnwright and THAT prep! 💚 6y
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thereadingwomen
Traveling with Ghosts: A Memoir | Shannon Leone Fowler
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Pickpick

After her fiancé is killed by a box jellyfish off the coast of Thailand, Shannon backpacks through Eastern Europe as she tries to come to terms with his death. Shannon says she wanted to this book to look at life after the death of a loved one, when the mourner must face day-to-day life as she deals with her grief. I appreciate how she emphasizes this theme, reminding us that grief is a never-ending process of emotions and memory. ?⠀

Nfergs It sounds really interesting. I like books about journeys both physically and internally. 6y
VeganCleopatra What is that print behind the book? 6y
thereadingwomen @VeganCleopatra It‘s somewhere in Yosemite. - K 6y
VeganCleopatra I was thinking it might be, I love black and white prints like that. Thanks for responding! 6y
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NicoleCeBallos
Traveling with Ghosts: A Memoir | Shannon Leone Fowler
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Pickpick

Shannon is a marine biologist who went to Thailand with her financé. He was stung by a jellyfish and died. The book alternates chapters between life with Sean and life after Sean. The book is about loss and learning to live in the aftermath of it.

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Ehbooklover
Traveling with Ghosts: A Memoir | Shannon Leone Fowler
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A searing, emotional read that is part travelogue, part grief memoir. This was a beautifully written book that was hard to read at times due to the author's raw and unflinchingly honest writing style.

bio_chem06 one of my favorites this year that I read 6y
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kdwinchester
Traveling with Ghosts: A Memoir | Shannon Leone Fowler
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Pickpick

After her fiancé is killed by a box jellyfish, Shannon backpacks through Eastern Europe as she tries to come to terms with her life without Sean. In her author's note, Shannon says she wanted to this book to look at life after the death of a loved one, when the mourner must face day-to-day life. I appreciate how the author emphasizes this theme, reminding us again and again that grief is a never-ending process of emotions and memory. ?

minkyb My heart... 7y
120 likes15 stack adds1 comment
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Fabiola1014
Traveling with Ghosts: A Memoir | Shannon Leone Fowler
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My evening reading tonight. Making me cry 😢 so many feels!

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Sue
Traveling with Ghosts: A Memoir | Shannon Leone Fowler
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Pickpick

Wow, this is a powerful read. The author witnesses her fiancé's rapid death after being stung by a box jellyfish during their holiday in Thailand. Traveling with Ghosts follows her journey through her raw grief as she also travels through Eastern Europe. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Joanne1 I'm sure I've read about this or seen an interview. The story is definitely familiar. 7y
Sue @Joanne1 @Liberty talked about it in the All the Books podcast a couple of months ago 😊 7y
Joanne1 @Sue aha, that's probably where I heard about it. 7y
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Cinfhen I find memoirs and nonfiction so much more fascinating than fiction. 7y
Cortg @cinfhen Me too! 7y
Liberty @Sue @Joanne1 Close - it was Rebecca. 😊 7y
Sue @liberty @Joanne1 Oops, my apologies, props to @rebeccaschinsky ! 7y
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BookishFeminist
Traveling with Ghosts: A Memoir | Shannon Leone Fowler
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I went book shopping because of course I did. ?? I got a memoir about a marine biologist who travels the world w her fiancé, & while in Thailand he dies from a jellyfish sting. I've been unable to wait patiently for the new Valeria Luiselli essay on undocumented immigrants, & Durga Chew-Bose's autobiographical essays on cultural criticism sounds amazing. Getting to these soon!

Nebklvr This sounded amazing! 7y
tapgurl Traveling with Ghosts is unputdownable! 7y
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bookculture
Traveling with Ghosts: A Memoir | Shannon Leone Fowler
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This week for #fridayreads Estefanía shares her current read: Traveling With Ghosts by Shannon Leone Fowler

"A brilliant story of grief and discovery. I love it because I feel like the author is being really honest about her feelings through this abstract memoir. She does an excellent job of putting feelings into words. A really honest read-- it feels like I'm reading into her soul." #tbr #currentlyreading #staffpicks

Chelsey I just listened to @rebeccaschinsky talk about this one! It sounds amazing 7y
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Bookfemme
Traveling with Ghosts: A Memoir | Shannon Leone Fowler
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I cannot stop touching this amazing cover

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bio_chem06
Traveling with Ghosts: A Memoir | Shannon Leone Fowler
Pickpick

Wow....this book, wow. It's such an incredible read and just so heartbreaking. This sucked me in all day and I'm on that book hangover, where I can't start anoher one just yet. Just wonderful.

Jacki I have this on hold TA the library. I cant's wait. I loved her essay in the lonely planet travel anthology. 7y
bio_chem06 @Jacki You will love it. It's so great! 7y
9 likes2 comments
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bio_chem06
Traveling with Ghosts: A Memoir | Shannon Leone Fowler
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DaniRa
Traveling with Ghosts: A Memoir | Shannon Leone Fowler
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#funfridayphoto at least it would be travel related haha 🤗

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Ashley_Nicoletto
Traveling with Ghosts: A Memoir | Shannon Leone Fowler
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Is there anything better than receiving book mail with deckle edges?! 😍

BookishFeminist No 😍 I love deckle edges! 7y
Ashley_Nicoletto @BookishFeminist Me too! I don't understand why they don't make all books this way. 😂 7y
Laalaleighh Deckle edges are the best ✨ 7y
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simonbooks
Traveling with Ghosts: A Memoir | Shannon Leone Fowler
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"Shannon Leone Fowler's restlessness in the face of her unimaginable loss makes the reader feel her battered Lonely Planet travel guide was aptly named. Like Cheryl Strayed's WILD, Fowler makes us feel that a hero's journey is our only hope for surviving grief. TRAVELING WITH GHOSTS is a brace and necessary record of love, and beautiful as it is heartbreaking." - Ann Patchett, author of BEL CANTO and STATE OF WONDER

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