Vagabondess is making (small, tentative) waves! Check out her recent interviews and published excerpts!
“Must Read”
Review on Reedsy
“I cannot stress how long I have waited for a piece of travel writing half as well written and informative as this. Vagabondess truly is the ultimate feminist guide to solo travel, written from the very real and raw perspective of a young, outgoing traveller who has her head screwed on. There is a common misconception that wanderlust is filtered and “Instagrammable”, when the reality of committing to a travel is much more layered. Israel acknowledges this every element of her writing. She is consistently aware that though this type of lifestyle truly is enriching in a variety of manners (spiritually, personally – though perhaps not financially!) it is not holidaying. Whether you’re a vagabondess like the author or a casual tourist, ethical travel is something everybody should exercise in their foreign adventures.”
A Must Read for Any Would-be Travelers
Review on Chick Lit Cafe
Vagabondess by Toby Israel is, in my opinion, a must read for any would-be travelers. Inspiring, exciting and considerably insightful, this guide is unlike any other you can buy. Not a list of places you can visit, this is a conduit to ‘traveling mindset’ and is about lifestyle and perspective. I found it totally uplifting.
In Vagabondess, Toby Israel has gracefully written a wonderful, inspiring and delightfully engaging guide to the mindset of a wanderer. An absolute must have for anyone wishing to take that first step out of comfort into the unknown.
READ NEXT: VAGABONDESS
Review on Wander Magazine
“From how to answer those nagging questions – from others, but let’s be honest, mainly yourself – to working abroad, staying healthy and safe, and what to (really) pack, Israel covers the nuts and bolts of solo travel.
But even better, she covers what other guides don’t – things like how to trust your intuition, being an introvert in an extrovert’s world, stillness and slow travel, even how to come back home.
We only wish someone had gifted us this book 20 years ago.”
The Progressive Populist
Review by Heather Seggel
I approached this book warily. Self-published titles often lack organization or careful editing, and can generally feel incomplete. The cover design is beautiful, but even that gave me pause: it features a photo of Israel against a backdrop of beautifully sun-drizzled mountains and fog, and she is both strikingly lovely and not wearing a lot of clothing. Was this an Instagram story that somehow made the leap to paper? Those concerns were dispelled by page two; Israel writes like a pirate-poet hybrid and does not shy away from the romance of life on the road, but she’s frank about the loneliness, tedium, and dislocation that come along for the ride.
Vagabondess: The Solo Travel Guide that Didn’t Exist Yet
Feature on Book Room Reviews
I didn’t want to write a guidebook—not exactly… not like that. I wanted to record my experiences and insights to offer an “interpretive roadmap” to women (and all people) who want to travel, try out a nomadic lifestyle, or simply face down their fears and move through to the adventures waiting on the other side. I was eager to go deeper than How-Tos and write about loneliness, community, relationships, spirituality, ethics, philosophy, and feminism. In short, the themes that defined my solo journeys, and which felt most relevant to my community of fellow vagabonds.
My imagined reader (cobbled together from the many real humans who have come to me for traveling advice) doesn’t want to read another blog about how to buy plane tickets. She is seeking confirmation that her dreams are possible—and a few practical suggestions for how to go after them.
Panel Discussion on the Laptop Lifestyle and Solo Travel with Purpose Coach Teany Hidalgo
How to Become a Solo Female Travel Vagabondess
Soul Travel Blog Interview
As a writer who publishes frequently about her solo shenanigans, I do sometimes face pushback from the internet. I think it’s unsettling to the social order when women are not afraid (like they’re supposed to be) and don’t stay in their place. A lot of the myths we tell about women’s safety are designed to keep us scared, small, and static. When we start to travel solo and unlearn so much of what we’ve been taught, we become brazen, big, and dynamic. That’s dangerous.
One of my Favorite interviews so far! Read the whole thing here.
Solo Female Travel Chat with Alice Ford of Alice’s Adventures:
“Thanks for joining the first episode of Alice’s adventures Adventure Travel Chat with Alice Ford and Writer and Self Defense Instructor Toby Israel.“
How to Listen to your Intuition
Via Rebelle Society.
Instinct and intuition are, I believe, closely linked. What is intuition, if not something deeper and more ancient than intellect or reason speaking from our lizard core, instructing us to fight, run, or freeze? Certainly, there are times when our inner reptile is in dissonance with the modern world; we do not need to run away from fireworks, and we definitely should not freeze in oncoming traffic. Our traumas are often the product of this dissonance between ancient coping mechanisms and modern challenges. We are more than our instincts, of course. That is what makes us human, or so claim at least a few spiritual disciplines. Nonetheless, this embodied animal wisdom can also bring us through the woods unscathed, physically and metaphorically. It is a proven technology to be respected, developed, and used with discernment.
Read the rest at Rebelle Society
SOULTalk with Lindsey Hunt
“Lessons for Quarantine from Solo Travel: Solitude, Fear, & Trusting the Flow”
Key Lessons from Aimless Wandering for Times of Chaos
Excerpt via elephant journal
But there is value in wandering aimlessly. So much value. I still believe that.
What is aimlessness? It is space, and it is time. Space to move without restraint or reservation, and time to observe without hurry. Space to expand, in body and spirit, and time to be utterly still. Space for silence. Time for reflection. Space for reflection. Time for silence.
Aimlessness isn’t purposelessness. Not to me. Aimlessness isn’t meaningless. Quite the contrary. Aimlessness isn’t absence from life, it is full-bodied presence in it. To wander aimlessly is to move through the world without the conceit that we actually know what is coming next. That is, to move through the world with grace.
Read the rest at elephant journal
“But What If No One Likes It?”
Workshop on Self-Promotion, Moving through Fear, & Putting Your Work Out There for Cosmic Convergence (Virtual) Festival