Freeways to Flip-Flops: A Family’s Year of Gutsy Living on a Tropical Island by Sonia Marsh tells the true story of how Sonia, her husband, Duke, and their three sons moved from suburban Los Angeles to spend a year in Belize in search for a freer and more enjoyable lifestyle.
As much a story of family revitalization as it is an insight into expat life, the book recounts how Sonia’s husband Duke found himself living life a stress-out workaholic lawyer and the effects that his lifestyle and work commitments had on each member of their family. After things started to frequently take turn after turn for the worse, Sonia and Duke decided to take radical action and transform their lives in a way that no one had expected.
Swapping their busy lifestyles in Los Angeles for a hut in the jungle that is open to the elements and without a reliable electricity supply.
This book would make a useful for read for current and would-be expatriates on many levels. Not only does it contain inspiring insights into how a family rescued themselves from the downward spiral their lives were following in America, it also describes how expats can find new fulfillment in places they never expected while facing the challenges of settling into living in a place so very different from home. Furthermore, for expats who are looking to reinvent themselves, Sonia’s quest to start a business and the determination with which she dealt with the challenges that materialized at every turn is both inspiring and motivational.
This book is a highly recommended read. At the very least, it will help you to take a long, hard look at your own life and question what adventures lie out there if you are only prepared to take a step out of your comfort zone.
