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1. What inspired you to write
this book? I was inspired by a
devastating loss. My wife, Jackie, died in a tragic accident in Africa in 2017,
just as we were entering a new stage of life together. After months of intense
grief and loneliness, I began traveling again. At first, travel was a way to
escape a home filled with memories, but gradually it became a form of healing.
The turning point came during my
trip to Afghanistan, a year after the Taliban takeover. Instead of fear, I felt
curiosity and an unexpected connection with the people I met. I realized I
wasn’t simply searching for countries, I was searching for human stories. That
was when I knew I needed to write this book.
2. What exactly is it about
and who is it written for? Belonging to
the World is a memoir about my quest to travel to every country on Earth and
the emotional journey that accompanied
it, from grief and disconnection to renewed purpose and belonging.
But it isn’t simply a travel book
or a checklist of countries. It is about the people I met, especially in places
such as Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Sudan, countries most of us know primarily
through headlines about war and danger. Those encounters challenged my
assumptions and expanded my understanding of humanity. The book is for
travelers, certainly, but also for anyone facing loss, transition, loneliness,
or the need to begin again. You don’t have to travel to every country, or even
very far, to recognize yourself in that search.
3. What do you hope readers
will get out of reading your book? I
hope readers come away believing that renewed purpose is possible after loss.
Grief may permanently change us, but it does not have to be the end of our
story. I also hope the book encourages readers to look beyond headlines and
approach unfamiliar people and places with curiosity rather than fear. There is
real danger and suffering in the world, but there is also profound beauty in
listening to people, respecting their dignity, and trying to understand lives
different from our own.
Most of all, I hope readers feel
inspired to take their own first step, whether that means traveling, reconnecting
with others, or simply becoming more open to the world. The world can change us
if we let it.
4. How did you decide on your
book’s title and cover design? The title
came from the central realization of my journey. After losing Jackie, I felt
disconnected from the life and future I had known. Through travel, and
especially through the connections I formed with people around the globe, I
gradually developed a sense of belonging to something
much larger than myself. I came
to feel that I belonged not only to one home or community, but to the world. The
cover reflects that emotional journey. The open landscape, distant horizon, and
warm light suggest both travel and renewal. It captures the idea of emerging
from darkness, looking outward, and discovering that another beginning may
still be waiting.
5. What advice or words of
wisdom do you have for fellow writers other than run!?
Don’t wait until you know exactly
what the story means before you begin writing it. Sometimes writing is how you
discover the meaning. Be honest, especially when the truth is uncomfortable,
but remember that a memoir should offer the reader more than a record of what
happened to you. Ask what your experience might illuminate for someone else. I
would also say: stay curious. Listen carefully to other people, question your
own assumptions, and be willing to revise—not only your sentences, but your
understanding of the story. And
accept that writing something
meaningful requires vulnerability, persistence, and a great deal of patience.
6. What trends in the book
world do you see and where do you think publishing is heading? Readers now discover and experience books in many
different ways, through print, e-books, audiobooks, podcasts, interviews, and
online communities. Audiobooks are an especially significant area of growth. At
the same time, I believe readers still want something timeless: authentic
stories that help them understand lives beyond their own. As our world becomes
more divided and much of our information is reduced to alarming headlines or
brief social-media posts, books offer the space to slow down, listen, and
develop empathy.
Publishing formats will continue
to evolve, but our need for compelling human stories will
remain.
7. Were there experiences in
your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book? Nearly every part of my life contributed to it. I grew up
in a traditional Iraqi-Jewish family in Southern California, and my mother was
born in Baghdad, so the Middle East always held a particular pull for me. My
first backpacking trip to Europe at 18 awakened a curiosity about the wider
world that never left me. My career at J.P. Morgan took me around the globe and
helped develop my adaptability, resilience, and comfort in unfamiliar
environments. My humanitarian work through Caravan to Class also taught me the
importance of listening to people and understanding their lives on their own
terms.
Most importantly, loving and
losing Jackie gave the book its emotional foundation. The Bourse Jackie
scholarship program, which supports women in West Africa, also connects the
book’s story to her legacy.
8. How would you describe your
writing style? Which writers or books is your writing
similar to? I would describe my style as reflective, candid, and
people-centered. The book combines travel narrative with memoir, history,
culture, and personal reflection. I try to bring readers into the immediacy of
a place while also exploring what each encounter taught me about grief, connection,
and our shared humanity. Rather than presenting myself as a heroic adventurer,
I try to remain curious and honest about my assumptions, including the
occasions when the people I met forced me to reconsider them. The book belongs
to the tradition of reflective travel memoirs in which the external journey becomes
an internal one. Ultimately, though, I hope the voice feels distinctly my own.
9. What challenges did you
overcome in writing this book? The
greatest challenge was returning to the most painful period of my life. Writing
about Jackie meant revisiting the phone call that changed everything, the shock
that followed, and the loneliness of trying to imagine a future without her. There
was also the challenge of shaping an enormous journey, 72 new countries, more
than 600,000 miles, and hundreds of encounters, into a coherent story. I had to
look beyond the statistics and decide what the journey was actually about.
Finally, I wanted to avoid
turning the people I met into background characters in my adventure. Their
stories deserved care, dignity, and context. The challenge was to tell my own
story while honoring theirs.
10. If people can buy or read
one book this week or month, why should it be yours? I would never claim that one book is right for everyone,
but I believe Belonging to the World
offers something urgently needed:
a hopeful, firsthand view of our shared humanity.
It takes readers beyond the
headlines and into encounters with people whose warmth, dignity,
humor, and generosity are often
missing from the stories told about their countries. It is also an honest
account of grief and the possibility of finding renewed purpose at any stage of
life.
And the book has an impact beyond
its pages: 100 percent of the proceeds support scholarships for women in West Africa through
the Bourse Jackie program, created in my wife’s name. So reading it becomes
part of a continuing story of connection and opportunity.
About
The Author: After a fifteen-year career in investment banking that took
him around the world, Barry transitioned into a second career farming grapes
and olives. His Silverwood Ranch olive oil has earned multiple gold medals, and
his wine grapes have been bottled into Francis Ford Coppola’s Archimedes wine. Today,
Barry is the founder of Caravan to Class, a nonprofit he launched in 2010 to
advance girls’ education in West Africa through the Bourse Jackie program,
named in honor of his late wife. His book, Belonging to the World (Girl Friday
Books), chronicles his journey to every country in the world following Jackie’s
tragic passing in Africa in late 2017. Barry is passionate about the world and
has visited 192 of 193 countries, earning distinction of Most Purposeful
Traveler 2025 (NomadMania Annual Traveler Awards).
Marketing Help?
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About Brian Feinblum
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For
the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He
formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the
head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the
director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many
first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with
best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen,
Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard,
Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C.
Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.
His
writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s
The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully) and (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/10-things-my-dog-taught-me-about-marketing-books). He was recently interviewed by the IBPA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0BhO9m8jbs
He
hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and
has spoken at ASJA, three times at BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers
Association, Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod
Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, five
times at Morgan James Publishing Red Carpet, and Connecticut Authors and
Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.
His
letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal,
USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester)
and The Washington Post. His first published book was The
Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook. It
was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.
Born
and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids,
and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.
You
can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum
