Willful Wanderer: A memoir

By NELSON GRAVES

"Willful Wanderer" traces the journey of a boy from Buffalo, New York who, thirsty for adventure and eager to escape his privileged milieu, becomes a globetrotting foreign correspondent. Humorous and poignant, the memoir takes the reader from a hidebound community of American WASPs to cosmopolitan capitals in Europe and Asia. It is an intimate coming-of-age tale that unfolds against epochal changes in American society triggered by the Vietnam War, racial desegregation and the liberation of women. As the author explores shores far from his Upstate New York birthplace, the reader discovers the charms and challenges of roaming the world. From Buffalo in the 1950s to Paris seven decades later, we meet the author's childhood buddy, a Hungarian refugee; his first true love, who eventually spurns him; shrewd mentors who steer him towards foreign shores and journalism; and the combative founding father of a proud Southeast Asian nation. He falls in love with an enticing French woman who bears his three children before manifesting a disease that tests their couple - and confirms the power of love. From the author's awkward and hilarious years as an impatient adolescent to the pivotal tests he faces as an adult, readers of this evocative memoir will emerge invigorated and gain insights into their own personal histories.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0D4DFTHXJ
• ISBN13: 9798324544720
• Release Date: May 2024
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 367 Pages
• Weight: 1.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"