By Alice Steinbach
(Reviewed by Nancy Jelinek)

Baltimore Sun reporter Alice Steinbach, a single mom with two grown sons, found herself daydreaming about traveling overseas on her own. Though a very independent person, Alice often felt she defined herself by what others thought of her. She wanted to experience the world, not report on it: “To take the risk. Say yes to life instead of no.” She submitted a request for a leave of absence and was surprised to receive an approval. It was settled. She would leave in April and return the following January (1993).

Alice started by making a list of possibilities, using clippings from articles she’d kept for years and guidebooks she’d collected. She set only two limits to her travels: (1) not to flit from place to place, but to stay a while in each setting, and (2) no exotic locales. One of her favorite writers, Janet Flanner, had written the New Yorker column “Letters from Paris” from 1925 to 1975, so Alice determined Paris was to be her first stop. Before leaving the States, she’d arranged for a hotel there, as well as an apartment in London, a class in Oxford, a tour in Italy, and a room on a Scottish sheep farm, where she would learn to train sheepdogs.

Her goals were “to have adventures; to learn the art of talking less and listening more; to see if she could hack in on her own, away from friends and her established identity.”

Wherever she went, she focused on getting to know each neighborhood—its bookstores, galleries, and cafes—by walking each “street by fascinating street.” She opened herself to kindred spirits by sharing tables at lunch or tea, riding buses and trains, and admiring art and wedding gowns. With only a misstep or two along the way, Alice Steinbach experienced the adventures she’d always dreamed of having, and her writing takes us along for the ride.

Steinbach is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist. A reader’s guide for Without Reservations is included, as are questions for discussion and suggested reading. Her second book is Educating Alice: Adventures of a Curious Woman.

Random House, Inc.
ISBN 978-0-375-75845-4