Ask an Adventurer

“There are many ways to build a life. This book is how I do things, but it’s not the way you should do them. I am sure other Working Adventurers would disagree with a lot of it and offer other advice
in its place. I have merely tried to be honest about the way I work. What I don’t do in these pages is answer the usual questions I get asked. There are no kit lists, no practical expedition planning advice, no daring deeds. I have written other books about all that. Here,

I simply show you the bodged-together set design of a Working Adventurer’s visible facade.

I felt it was important to counter the Instagram glossiness of not only my online life, but the prevalence of seemingly perfect, envy- inducing online lives in general. It is not healthy to see so much curated polish. I wanted to lift the curtain and invite you backstage to see the reality of the mess that I usually shove hastily into the wings, out of sight.

The book’s genesis was an awareness that the questions I answer in my talks and the stories I share on stage and social media are just the tip of the iceberg of my working life. Kayaking amongst bright blue icebergs is one thing. But who does my tax returns? And what do I do all day in my shed other than drink coffee and look out of the window at the birds?”