By: Victoria Lopatka

What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding: A Memoir by Kristin Newman is a debut travel memoir unlike any other travel memoir you’ve ever read. With humour and reflection, Newman leads us through her adventures in foreign countries, sure to give any and every reader a bad case of wanderlust. She touches on issues like romance, sex, friendships, disappointments, loss, and growing up in a way that will have you sitting in your room murmuring, “Me too, girl, same” to yourself.

“Newman will have you grinning in no time with tales of Finnish poker players, sexy Argentinian priests, [and] lost passports…”

     This book is one part sexy, one part humourous, and one part reflective. Readers who struggle with choosing between the demands of a career, a relationship (or lack thereof), and their passions will relate to Newman’s poignant reflections on her own story and her blunt attitude on these topics.

     Many readers (myself included) struggle with the slow-pace, low-action prose of many travel memoirs, but I beg you to give this book a shot. Newman will have you grinning in no time with tales of Finnish poker players, sexy Argentinian priests, lost passports, and most importantly, doing what you’re supposed to do in the place you’re supposed to do it.  “I am not a slut in the United States of America,” the attention-grabbing first line reads, “but I really love to travel.” The book jumps right into the action, and holds back little.