When crisis hits, I'm a big fan of letting go of the familiar, jumping on a plane, and embracing the unknown. Certainly, this self-discovery strategy is so effective it's become cliché, but hot damn, is it ever true! Time and again, I'm reminded that if we open ourselves to its limitless possibilities, the world has a way of conjuring up people, experiences and adventures that remind us of who we are. And, as a result, help us refine where we're going and what we're doing with our lives. But change can be scary, so I'm always turned on by those who give up what they know -- job, friends, perception of self -- to hit the road on a major solo jaunt. After donating part of his liver to his (now ex-) boyfriend, breaking up and feeling lost, David Jedeikin did just that, and wrote about it all in his book, Wander the Rainbow. We chatted. Here's what the San Francisco-based techie-turned-author had to say:
A human liver transplant was the starting point of Wander the Rainbow. Can you please explain?
A few years ago I was dating a guy back east who was born sick with a rare congenital liver disease and knew he'd one day need a liver transplant. That "one day" came a couple of years into our relationship. The liver is the only organ that regenerates, allowing surgeons to take a piece of a healthy person's liver, transplant that into the recipient, and having both regrow to full size. The surgery went well, but our relationship didn't. In the midst of emotional turmoil, I decided to do something different with my life: take a long career break and travel around the world.
Your background is in tech -- how did this lead to writing?
Although I'd done computer programming as a kid, I'd always written -- my college degree is in communications, and I'd done work in the movie and publishing industries and written screenplays. I had no idea all this would be material for a book, but having loved blogging and keeping a journal of my travels, when I returned home I realized I had the ingredients for a book-length story, and had to get it out there! So I took memoir-writing seminars at a writer's collective here in San Francisco and engaged developmental editors and proofreaders to look at my work.
How did you finance your jaunt?
I overcame the fear and listened to career-break counselors who assured "your career will be waiting when you come home." They were right! Between subletting my apartment and spending the time in less-expensive countries, I found that travel overseas doesn't cost much more than day-to-day living in most big American cities. And, I had a pile of frequent-flyer miles. World travel is much more affordable than many of us think.
The gay community is known to love travel, but does your book appeal to the rest of us as well?
Absolutely! I actually see myself as a bit of an evangelist for both groups: for gay travelers, to get them a bit off the "rainbow trail" and discover different places, such as Dublin, Singapore, or Cape Town, that have become terrific travel destinations for LGBT travelers besides London or Buenos Aires. For all, my story offers an on-the-ground look at "flashpacking," a popular European style of travel that involves hauling around a backpack but otherwise doing your trip a bit nicer than college-age hostel backpacking.
What were three of your favorite places?
There were so many! I'm a big-city boy and a technology nut, so Tokyo ranks high. For natural splendor, New Zealand's South Island. For "friendliest developing-world country," Jordan, Cambodia and Peru.
Who was the most memorable character you met along the way?
The romance with a half-Japanese, half-Brazilian guy in Tokyo is way up there; so too is "Renaissance Man," a fellow in London.
You decided to self-publish and print on demand. Why?
As a full-time software engineer, I was fully aware of the hardships in trying to "break in." But then I learned about incredible breakthroughs in publishing these days. Yes, the industry is in transition, but that represents opportunity: with print-on-demand and e-books, the complexity and cost of physically manufacturing a book has tumbled. It's now possible to put out a top-quality book and sell it online (or to bookstores) with only a modicum of technical savvy. This directly connects authors with with readers -- I get e-mails all the time from people all over the U.S. and the world.
Sometimes physical journeys lead to spiritual ones. What were you searching for... and did you find it?
Although I'm not a traditionally spiritual or religious person (one area where my story differs from Eat, Pray, Love), what I think connects many of us is a need to radically shift our lives to better understand our workaday existence. By moving you out of your comfort zone and out of the familiar, long-haul world travel has the capacity to do that. I came home greatly enriched and fulfilled. Travel can open your eyes in ways you'd never expect - both about the world and yourself. There are so many oft-overlooked details and connections between places that so many of us never consider. And through those connections, one begins to think about oneself.
Finally, what's next for you, David?
For now, promoting Wander the Rainbow is a full-time job in itself; it's turned me into a one-man marketing machine, planning and promoting events North America-wide and beyond. I'm looking to do another long-haul trip, this time around the Mediterranean region, and working on a possible "prequel" to Wander the Rainbow: a series of vignettes about professional nomads in America -- kind-of a gay Up In The Air. And there's been some interest in Hollywood by some indie filmmakers in turning Wander the Rainbow into a movie. So this story may be coming soon to a theater near you!