Review: Belonging to the World by Barry Hoffner

An emotional adventure that transcends borders and the boundaries of devotion, Belonging to the World: A Journey from Grief to Connection in Every Country on Earth by Barry Hoffner details the author’s epic journeys through love, loss, and healing.

In 2017, Hoffner’s life was upended when his wife Jackie died suddenly while travelling in Africa, leaving him heartbroken and drifting in the face of unimaginable loss. Beginning with the fateful trip that led to her death and the subsequent months of traumatic fallout, this memoir shifts back to the past, laying out the decades of chance decisions and international leaps that eventually bound their kindred lives. Making their way through Japan, China, India, Thailand, Myanmar, dozens of African countries, Australia, Fiji, Russia, Mali, and many more, their wanderlust romance was the stuff of dreams until it was cut short by tragedy.

With four decades of travel already under his belt, the newly widowed author sets out to embrace the legacy he had begun with his wife and visit every country in the world. Joining a travel group with similarly lofty goals, he connected with other like-minded globetrotters, providing him with a dynamic community of people who intimately understood his need to move, learn, and experience the richness of people and places. Through his global quest to connect and explore, Hoffner discovers that he has always belonged to something much bigger than a marriage, and finds essential support for his immense grief.

There are many travelogues to exotic locales written by people with compelling back stories or intentions for their trips, but few of those books are written with such vulnerability and endearing honesty. Furthermore, rarely do such standard road chronicles cover this much ground, both philosophically and literally, often being limited to one continent or global region. The combination of intense emotional processing with an abundance of captivating memories from foreign shores makes this travel memoir uniquely compelling, and difficult to put down.

From visa rejections at the Chinese border and navigating the mysterious streets of Moscow to formative homecomings in Iraq and sneaking into refugee camps in Bangladesh, every chapter offers a surprising perspective on a new corner of the world. Readers are also given unfettered access to the man behind the passport, whether that is his careful approach to parenting, his thoughts on religion and cultural consumption, his informed critiques on geopolitical shifts, or his insights into mental health and personal growth after trauma.

Thanks to Hoffner’s keen powers of observation and willingness to explore with humility, the prose captures the unique spirit and challenges of his far-flung destinations, as well as the existential importance of travel. His memories are sharply recalled and deeply human, from the details of his dreams to nostalgic tangents about Jackie’s charming quirks, but the writing represents far more than a personal diary of grief. There are countless inspiring elements and anecdotes woven through these pages, with wisdom flowing naturally from his finely tuned voice.

In most cases, the rawness of the writing is proof of its authenticity as the intimate reflections of a lifelong wanderer, but the text could benefit from slightly more editorial guidance. Some tales get overloaded by procedural travel details and itinerary summaries, while other key moments are moved past too quickly, such as the first time he met Jackie in the late 70s.

Small adjustments to execution could further boost this memoir’s appeal, but this intensely moving story is at once heartrending and captivating, resulting in the kind of profound reading experience that can expand one’s horizons.