On Co-Authorship and Expanding the Conversation
On Co-Authorship and Expanding the Conversation
By Annika Paradise, co-author of WONDER YEAR: A GUIDE TO LONG-TERM FAMILY TRAVEL AND WORLDSCHOOLING
The heart of our new book, Wonder Year: A Guide to Long-term Family Travel and Worldschooling, is collaborative conversation. Part inspiration and part how-to, our book demystifies the seemingly outrageous prospect of embarking on a long-term family trip and using the world as a classroom for your kids—a trailblazing approach known as worldschooling.
Three experiences led me to want to worldschool my kids for a year: learning and growing from my own experience traveling as a kid, being a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand, and working as a student travel guide in my twenties. But when I needed to research the nitty-gritty on how to do it, I couldn’t find the information I needed. So I asked my friend who had done something similar. And I also asked a friend of a friend. I learned what I needed by expanding the conversation, learning from the wisdom of other women who generously gave me both the detailed how-to’s and the pat on the back encouragement.
Later, when I returned from traveling for a year with my husband and three kids through seven countries on three continents, I looked on Amazon for the book I wish I’d had before going. It wasn’t there yet. Someone really should write that book I thought. And when friends of friends started coming to me to ask for the details of how they could pull off their own extended family travel, I kept wondering When is someone going to write that book? What began to keep me up at night was the thought that maybe I was that somebody.
Aside from having the experience of worldschooling my own kids, I did not have experience writing a book. That journey seemed daunting. And lonely. The intention was always to enlarge the conversation. So, my first thought was to ask my two early advisors, Julie and Angela, if they had any interest in writing a book with me. The answer was a quick and confident, yes. For each of us, our year or more of traveling with our families was the best time in our lives. As Julie said, “When I returned I wanted to shout from the rooftops to share what an amazing experience it was and to encourage others to hit the road with their families!”
From the outset our intention was mission-driven: how do we help others get out there? Many assume that worldschooling is only for the wealthy, but that’s simply not true. Families find creative ways to work from the road or save up as they would for college. We wanted to demystify the process. Our why was deeply important to us. All three authors believe that peace and environmental solutions come from crossing borders–both physical and metaphorical–and having conversations.
We started with individual brainstorms for what information we wanted to include and bullet points of what would go into each chapter. Then we combined, refined, and created an outline. It was uncanny how in sync we were. After we talked through each chapter, adding anecdotes and stories, we divided them up to write our–as writer Anne Lamott famously coined it–“shitty first draft.” Then, we gave each other extensive feedback, interviewed other travelers and influencers, and incorporated new information and fresh perspectives into the second and “less shitty” draft by expanding the ideas and conversation further. Next we sought outside feedback, beginning the long march toward publishing.
Along the way, we wondered how to blend the voices of three writers. We wanted our book to read like advice from encouraging and experienced friends. Friends who are willing to take off the Instagram veneer of ecstatic travel and show the underbelly–the obstacles and the perseverance required to take a dream and turn it into a Wonder Year. In our minds, multiple voices and points of view are the benefits of a collaborative piece of writing. In the final drafts, we each inserted a bit of our own voice to the text. Even if a chapter wasn’t first written by Angela, if we decided that it needed more of her organization and clarity, she would rewrite sections. Another chapter might need a bit more of Julie’s humor. We found that collaboration helped round out our advice and stories.
We decided to title it Wonder Year because taking off for extended family travel with a mindset of curiosity and discovery is a way to reclaim wonder in our lives. “Year” is meant to be more than a fixed unit of time, but rather a metaphorical season of intention. Many worldschoolers do it in summer spurts or as an open-ended way of life.
The idea that co-authoring a book is one-third of the work is not true. I believe it was three times the work, but the paybacks to collaboration are many. First, I got to spend time with two inspirational women who share my passion, urge me on when I doubt myself, and keep me on task. I also needed to explain my writing choices, up my game, and concede to a better idea. Conversations from three hearts and minds make for a more polished, more soulful nonfiction work. Collaboration is joyful when it’s a shared passion project. In many ways, the writing of this book has been another Wonder Year for me.
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About Annika Paradise
Annika Paradise and her husband, Will, worldschooled their three children across three continents and twelve countries including Nepal, Laos, China, Cambodia, Thailand, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Italy and Greece. With a cello. She is the co-author of the forthcoming book WONDER YEAR: A GUIDE TO LONG-TERM FAMILY TRAVEL AND WORLDSCHOOLING, with Julie Frieder and Angela Heisten. You can find more information at https://wonderyear.com/
Wonder Year: A Guide to Long-Term Family Travel and Worldschooling
Learn how to pack up the family for a life-changing, long-term journey filled with education and adventure.
If you’ve ever dreamed about an epic family adventure and heading out on the road for a few months or more, Wonder Year is for you. Part inspiration and part how-to, this book demystifies the seemingly outrageous prospect of embarking on a long-term family trip and using the world as a classroom for your kids—a trailblazing approach known as worldschooling.
Packed with practical information, Wonder Year offers invaluable guidance to help transform your dream into a well-planned reality for your family. Woven throughout the book are evocative travelogues and photos from families sharing worldschooling experiences. Paddling a wild and scenic Oregon river, stargazing in New Mexico, and visiting World War II sites in France are just a few of the colorful stories that will no doubt stir you to envision your own journey.
This book will show you how to:
- Explore funding options for long-term family travel—be it a summer, semester, year, or more
- Choose where to go and navigate the logistics of getting there
- Discover alternative education methods for teaching your kids on the road
- Travel responsibly and sustainably
- Identify ways to earn income while traveling
- Stay healthy and safe along the way
- Tap into a global community of worldschoolers and family adventurers
You’ll learn that extended family travel is more attractive and attainable than ever before, and remote living and learning are not actually remote at all. Wonder Year will help you slow down, simplify, and wonder at all the world has to offer.
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