★★★★★
Overview
The recently published Instead, written by Maria Coffey and published by Rocky Mountain Books, offers a look into an unconventional life in which the pull toward freedom, travel, and adventure overcomes the need for stability. Coffey’s journey –and perhaps her desire to remain childfree –is in part defined by her experience with the fatal (and near-fatal) outcomes of high-risk adventures, including the tragic loss of a loved one during a Mount Everest expedition.
Off the coast of Vancouver Island in Canada, Coffey and her husband live on a small island from which they commute to and from by kayak. Eventually, they depart on even more thrill-seeking adventures with a yearlong trip around the world with stops in the Solomon Islands (Oceania), India (Asia), and Malawi (Africa).
While the dangers of the wilderness and the unexpectedly deep connections with strangers are exhilarating, they must also overcome the common (but life-altering and inescapable) difficulties of life.
The most intriguing and unique aspect of this book was, in my opinion, the perspective on womanhood and parenthood that the author provides through her interactions with people from different cultures in which traditional gender roles are strictly upheld. Throughout the book, Coffey’s own womanhood is probed by strangers, constantly and randomly. Despite her deliberate choice not to have any children, her childlessness causes people to react with pity, many offering prayers and a promise that she’ll soon bear a child.
Subtly, but with a conscious effort, Coffey demonstrates that the most unconventional part of her life isn’t necessarily her daring and adventurous lifestyle but perhaps, her decision to be childfree in a world in which womanhood is synonymous with motherhood.