Thanks to NetGalley for giving me a digital copy this nonfiction travel memoir. This is about a couple in the 1980's who are tired of the same old same old and decide to bike from France to Lebanon to Israel. It's a story of love, heartbreak, found family and religion.
Michael Tobin introduces us to his life in cold Vermont along with his partner Deborah. They are both psychologists who met on a dance floor in the 70's. They decided to go on this journey of discovery and bike from Paris to Deborah's family homeland in Lebanon and eventually come to an end in Israel where Michael will come to terms with his Jewish roots.
Along the way they meet many Holocaust survivors who tell their stories. They experience first hand the war between the Lebanese and Syrians in Beirut. In Israel Michael accepts his Jewish heritage and becomes accepting of whatever Deborah will do. Will she convert to Judaism to stay with him or will she leave the relationship for her Lebanese Christian family.
I ended up giving this a 3 out of 5 stars. I really enjoyed the bike adventure and the Holocaust survivor stories. The bike adventure reminded me of one of my favorite youtubers who went on a bike ride through Europe for charity. What I didn't care about reading was the religion and the choices that they had to make.
The ending was really sad and the secondary title makes sense.
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