Belonging To The World – Barry Hoffner

“Would you be comfortable with me going? It could be my one opportunity to go, you never know.” “Well, Dad, you let me get a motorcycle even though you were not entirely comfortable with the idea, so I guess I should be okay with your going to Afghanistan.”

And when the next email arrived from Alvaro, I had already said yes. Men: 1. Leave your beard for the next month. Don’t shave it. It’s the single most important thing (aside from the local clothes) that will make you blend in and, hence, keep you safe.

2. Dye your hair if you are blond. Go for a dark brown. 3. Don’t be very well groomed. Keep your beards scruffy for an A+. 4. We will be wearing local clothes at all times to blend in. I hate facial hair and wearing anything but my comfortable Unbound Merino clothes when traveling, but if that was the price of entry into this mysterious land, I was willing to pay it. In heading to Afghanistan, I had no illusions about the risks. But after everything I’d been through, the idea of turning down a journey because it frightened me a bit didn’t sit right.

Somewhere between the salt rim of my margarita and the final click of “confirm,” I knew: I wasn’t just saying yes to Afghanistan; I was saying yes to life. I also knew that each time I stepped into a new country, I left behind an old fear.

I wasn’t the same man who once feared elephants. Or solitude. Or uncertainty. And then Silvia again texted me, “Pushing beyond our travel boundaries is where the soul expands and the magic hides.” And if I could travel to Afghanistan only a year after the Taliban took over, what other fears could I overcome?

Sometimes, the bravest thing isn’t choosing safety; it’s choosing possibility. 1kitap1.com/en Part 5 Becoming Bolder: Beyond the Comfort Zone Finding Grace in the World’s Challenging Places 1kitap1.com/en Chapter 19 Taliban Tourism Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. —⁠T. S. Eliot October 2022 Afghanistan Some countries make headlines for violence, but countries live in their people and places, in shades of resilience and wonder that few outsiders ever witness.

Praise for Belonging to the World “Belonging to the World is much more than the story of the tragic loss of a spouse or stepping foot in every country. It is the joy of connecting to the familiar as well as the gratification of learning cultures and fellowship with our broader sense of humanity. This book is an inspiration, a map that leads the reader toward positive affirmation of change.”

—⁠Julia Roberts “In Belonging to the World, Barry Hoffner transforms profound personal tragedy into a remarkable journey of meaning and connection. His story resonates deeply with anyone who has seen both the beauty and the brutality of the world and still chooses hope. This book is a testament to resilience, empathy, and the belief that through understanding others, we rediscover ourselves.”

—⁠Bill Browder, author of New York Times bestsellers Red Notice and Freezing Order “Barry reminds us of the beauty of human connection and the power of using grief to reimagine instead of to detach.” —⁠Luke Russert, author of New York Times bestseller Look for Me There “This moment in time is our most precious resource.

. . . I’m reminded of that this morning by Barry Hoffner, who writes . . . about how, after losing his wife, he decided to spend his time traveling⁠—discovering and rediscovering places⁠—and sharing what he learned along the way. That’s how he chose to spend his time, and I’m so glad he took the time to share his learnings with us.”

—⁠Maria Shriver, in her introduction to Hoffner’s article in the “I’ve Been Thinking” column of The Sunday Paper “In Belonging to the World, Barry Hoffner takes the transformative nature of travel to a whole other level. He sees travel as a way to connect with others in a profound way, and, as a result, he builds schools where there are none.

He builds roads to connect villages and encourages young girls to dream about a future filled with the promise of a better tomorrow. Barry inspires us to make a lasting difference in the lives of others we meet along the way. This book will encourage the reader to view travel in a new and enriching light.”

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 64c80259bde84bf4
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 18,739,055 bytes (17.871 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9781967510450, 9781964721415, 9781967510214
• Pages: 395
• Language: English (en)

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• Estimated Reading Time: 506.23 minutes
• Total Words: 101,246
• Total Characters: 575,628
• Average Words per Page: 256.32
• Average Characters per Page: 1457.29

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