All Over the Place

Adventures in Travel, True Love, and Petty Theft

By: Geraldine DeRuiter

Narrated by: Geraldine DeRuiter

Some people are meant to travel the globe, to unwrap its secrets and share them with the world. And some people have no sense of direction, are terrified of pigeons, and get motion sickness from tying their shoes. These people are meant to stay home and eat nachos.

Geraldine DeRuiter is the latter. But she won't let that stop her.

Hilarious, irreverent, and heartfelt, All Over the Place chronicles the years Geraldine spent traveling the world after getting laid off from a job she loved. Those years taught her a great number of things, though the ability to read a map was not one of them. She has only a vague idea of where Russia is, but she now understands her Russian father better than ever before. She learned that what she thought was her mother's functional insanity was actually an equally incurable condition called "being Italian." She learned what it's like to travel the world with someone you already know and love -- how that person can help you make sense of things and make far-off places feel like home. She learned about unemployment and brain tumors, lost luggage and lost opportunities, and just getting lost in countless terminals and cabs and hotel lobbies across the globe. And she learned that sometimes you can find yourself exactly where you need to be -- even if you aren't quite sure where you are.

Critic reviews

"Geraldine DeRuiter's All Over the Place is a travel memoir of sorts, but I'd enjoy reading pretty much any topic she wanted to cover. Her voice is funny, witty and warm, and her stories sparkle. This book is a travel companion you'll be happy you brought along."—Lauren Graham, star of Gilmore Girls and New York Times bestselling author of Talking as Fast as I Can

"I laughed so hard during the book's 'disclaimer' that I woke up my baby, and then actively ignored him to continue reading. Geraldine is at turns laugh-out-loud hilarious and grab-me-some-tissues tender, and all I could think of after reading this was 'can we take a trip together please?'"
—Nora McInerny Purmort, author of It's Okay to Laugh (Crying Is Cool Too)

"DeRuiter's funny, honest portrayal of life's small and large adventures will convince any hesitant would-be traveler that you don't need bravery or even an above average sense of direction to venture out into the world-all you need is a plane ticket and a sense of humor (and maybe a plunger)."
—Rachel Friedman, author of The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Lost

"All Over the Place is a hilarious, authentic travel guide through the most mysterious and wonderful territory of all: the human heart."—Martha Brockenbrough, author of the award-winning novel The Game of Love and Death

"Getting laid off from a job she adored opened the door to the blogosphere for DeRuiter, as she explains this irreverent, yet warm-hearted memoir. Readers of her blog the Everywhereist will be familiar with the author's style of using her personality quirks and health issues as the foundation for her conversation with the reader and revelations on life. "I hail from a long, nervous line of hypochondriacs," DeRuiter explains. Being afraid of travel and lacking a sense of direction haven't hindered her but rather helped her explore the world. "So, if there is any advice I could dispense, it would be this: it's absolutely incredible the things you can learn from not having a clue about where you're going." Her intimate memoir chronicles her adventures during the seven years she spent crisscrossing the globe, learning to understand and accept quirky family members. The author delves into her relationship with a workaholic-but-loving husband and a serious health crisis. DeRuiter's memoir is a light-hearted look at travel and learning to live life to the fullest each day, even if you not quite sure where you are going."
—Publishers Weekly

Simply Delightful

Cute and written by a real person. Life happens, embrace it, and love it. From someone who travels solo and has gotten lost in countless cities, this book hit home. I enjoyed how she said that just because you don't see the path that you're on doesn't mean you're on the wrong one. Great book, not about travel but about how life happens in ways we don't anticipate.

A fascinating story(ies)!

I found this book after looking up Geraldine DeRulter on Twitter, after one of tweets went viral (the one about how Joker really should be a woman!) and I'm really happy I listened to this audiobook! Geraldine does a great job telling stories, and narrating them too! As someone who likes travelling but still has a lot more to do, I was really enjoying hearing her stories and how different they are from most travellers. The stories were more about her and her relationship with her husband, not where they were specifically. There are some gross stories about half way through which I wasn't sure I needed to hear (TMI! lol) but this is a great listen!

Joyful and Unflinchingly Real

Loved how it made me want to keep exploring (and explore with) the people I *think* I know best.

I found this to be boring which surprised me

Oh dear I found this to be very boring after a promising start. The author reads her own book which is always a delight and she does a good job here. The material is just not that funny or interesting. I bought it after reading some hilarious blog posts and Times humor articles of hers. She mainly talks about her family and husband in mostly serious and loving terms which is awesome for her. I'm glad she has them in her life but IMO I don't know them and after several chapters of the same thing I was ready to move on to another topic but she never did.

Life is messy which adds to the adventure.

I thoroughly enjoyed sharing slices of life through Geraldine's eyes. The bits about her mother are especially hilarious! Through thick and thin, I enjoyed the shenanigans.