Becoming Still:

A Tale of Inner Reckoning and Wild Places

by

Sej Saraiya

Well-told and vivid, BECOMING STILL is deeply engaging on more than one level and much more than just a travelogue.

Becoming Still: A Tale of Inner Reckoning and Wild Places by Sej Saraiya is a traveler’s tale of a journey to unexpected places of beauty and understanding of both the physical and emotional experiences. When the author agrees to join her boyfriend on an off-the-beaten-path trip into the backcountry of Venezuela, she not only discovers a beautiful, less-visited region of the world but new insights about herself and her partner. Her story is engaging and points out the realities of how most tourists experience new places, people, and cultures only superficially. 

Stories of traveling to remote and exotic locations and what is encountered there are often the only way many people will ever experience that place for themselves, but this vicarious travel can still be satisfying and inspirational; BEING STILL certainly fulfilled this for me. The author’s writing style, often confessional, often self-deprecating, is warm, easy to read, revealing, and personable. She deftly conveys the feelings she had while traveling, deficit in the local language, through unknown places, perfectly telegraphing her emotions and reactions – unease, alarm, fear, disappointment, and joy – as she and her companions encountered wild terrain and uncertain local conditions without a trusted and reliable safety net. 

Seraiya relates her discoveries of the beauty and added value inherent in “slow travel,” the practice of immersing oneself in the life, food, and culture of a new location, choosing fewer destinations in favor of a deeper connection with a place and its people. So many travelers, unable to pick up and go for many reasons, want to make the most of their limited vacation days and dollars, so quick, superficial tourism has become the norm for “once in a lifetime” trips. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s descriptions of the sights and included photographs; however, the pictures in my ebook edition were often dark and difficult to see clearly. Many of the sites she visited were remote and required rough transportation with few amenities on arrival, and I empathized with her unease at the more loosey-goosey travel arrangements and accommodations. Her overnight stay at the home in the remote Venezuelan countryside and the odd family dynamics of the host were tense and riveting reading, as were many other incidents on this same trip. I admire the author’s ability to get beyond the strangeness and fear of the unknown and bond with her fellow travelers, hosts, and local people. My only complaint is that the story ended too soon; I wanted more. 

I recommend BECOMING STILL to readers of travel stories, especially those who wish to get out on their own, see new places, and meet new people. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from Reedsy Discovery.