A vegan road-tripper’s dream
A learned about Kristin Lajeunesse‘s book, Will Travel for Vegan Food: A Young Woman’s Solo Van-Dwelling Mission to Break Free, Find Food, and Make Love when she was suggested to me as a potential contributor to my book. Not only did she contribute to Vegan Marketing Success Stories, but I got some insight into the Kickstarter campaign she ran to fund her two-year trip across the USA in a van eating at many of the country’s vegan restaurants, on which the book is based. Talk about #LifeGoals! Naturally, I added her book—published in 2015 by Vegan Publishers—to my reading list.
Is Will Travel for Vegan Food a memoir?
Yes! And it’s the main reason I was really looking forward to digging into the book. While van travel is not my cup of tea, eating at vegan restaurants is and Lajeunesse did a fab job of not only blogging while she was on the road (from 2011–2013) but posting on social media (including on YouTube) during the trip. Documenting is half the work when you’re writing a book, and although it couldn’t possibly cover all 547 restaurants she visited and the people she met over the course of two years (and across 48 states!), it’s a great recap of her trip and gives us a great glimpse into who she was before she embarked on the trip, all the significant events worth mentioning, and the person she became afterwards.
Check out the trailer she made for the book below. It’s on the long side, but gave me goosebumps!
Is Will Travel for Vegan Food a vegan memoir?
Heck yes! While there are likely tons of travel memoirs, it’s different when the author has a vegan’s point of view. Lajeunesse did a great job of explaining how and why she went vegan (as that’s an important part of why she wanted to travel to all these vegan restos) while not making the focus of the book about veganism. What I really enjoyed was how she took some time to highlight all the different parts of herself and this epic trip:
- Past and childhood
- Identity as a vegan
- Relationship history and romances experienced on the trip
- Gerty the van and what to expect when travelling in a van
- Where she ate, where she stayed, and who she met
- How the trip changed her as a person
The book jumps back and forth in time, but I like when memoirs do that as it emphasizes how the author (or main character) changes over time. When I finish all the vegan books that are on my list, I might start focusing on vegan travel memoirs, just to see what else is out there.
According to her blog, she published another book a year later: How to Launch & Promote Your First Book on a $0 Budget. But it looks like she pulled it, as I can’t find a link for it. There’s so much more I could share about this book, but I honestly don’t want to spoil it for you—definitely grab and enjoy it for yourself, and never on an empty stomach!
It’s also great to have read a book published by Vegan Publishers, which I knew about recently, but had never read its titles.
Need a vegan book coach, ghostwriter, or editor to help you create, write, or edit your memoir so you can get it out into the world? Read more about my services here and contact me if you’re ready to begin!
