When Wanderers Cease to Roam: A Traveler's Journal of Staying Put (Hardcover)

~ Vivian Swift (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A charming, illustrated celebration of puttering, doodling, daydreaming, and settling down after years on the road.

Following a lifetime of trekking across the globe, Vivian Swift racked up twenty-three temporary addresses in twenty years, finally dropped her well-worn futon mattress and rucksack in a small town on the edge of the Long Island Sound. She spent the next decade quietly taking stock of her life, her immediate surroundings, and, finally, what it means to call a place a home.

The result is When Wanderers Cease to Roam. Filled with watercolors of beautiful local landscapes, seasonal activities, and small, overlooked pleasures of easy living, each chapter chronicles, month by month, the beautifully mundane perks of remaining at home—from curious notices in the local paper to the variations of autumnal clouds. At once gorgeously rendered and wholly original, this delightful and masterfully observed year of staying put shows us how the details of travel and the details of our lives remain with us—how they can nurture and sustain us, and how the past and the present become, in the end, intertwined.

About the Author

Vivian Swift is a freelance writer and former assistant vice president of Christie's Inc. This is her first book.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (October 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596914610
• ISBN-13: 978-1596914612
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 8.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #197,851 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best "Art Journal" I've Seen . . ., November 16, 2008

By	Jessica Wesolek (Santa Fe, NM) - See all my reviews

The author describes her book this way:

"When Wanderers Cease to Roam is a quirky, hand-made, slow-information kind of book that combines a first-person narrative with over 300 illustrations. It's not quite a memoir, and not exactly a diary, it's more like a lifestyle catalog that provides a one-of-a-kind reading experience."

I describe it as perhaps the most wonderful, most engaging, most entertaining, most inspiring "Artist Journal" I have ever seen! I don't know if Vivian is familiar with the art journaling genre (phenomenon actually), but she could not have done a better job of showcasing all there is to love about an art journal.

The author has traveled the world for much of her life. One day, she decided to put down roots in one place and experience that one place with the same attention she would some exotic travel destination.

With 300 watercolor sketches, and 208 pages of handwritten description, this book is a thing of beauty that engages you from the first moment you touch it. It is written in twelve chapters - one to celebrate each month of the year in all its glory - or not so much glory.

Vivian lives in a small village on Long Island Sound, so it doesn't seem at first thought like that much exciting stuff could be going on (like many of us feel about our own surroundings.) Add to this some serious Winter weather and gloom to endure, and you might just sit there stumped for creative inspiration. Not this lady!

So, one of the biggest and most valuable treasures this pretty book delivers is the "Aha!" that there is interest and beauty in everything - even mud!! - which gets a page of its own in March.

And the writing is as fun as the art. The author has a quirky sense of humor and the ability to hone in on the most endearing and entertaining aspects of the smallest of village happenings - like an escaped balloon or a runaway kite, for instance.

Imagine a series of drawings of a snowman's activities - like he might make a snow angel?

And the "word pictures" are just as delightful:
"February 14
Atmosheric conditions are similar to those that produce thunderstorms in the Summer, but, this being February and frigid, there is only a ring around the moon tonight, an optical illusion from all that lightning in the air, frozen into a ring of silent thunder."

And as if that weren't enough, the author reaches, on snowbound and other days, into her travel memories for inspiration. In one chapter she goes through her extensive tea cup collection and journals the stories that go with their acquisition. So, the reader gets some vicarious world adventure in the bargain.

I encourage you to get your hands and your heart into this book as fast as you can. Give it a hug when you first meet, because it will soon be a great journaling "friend" who will encourage everything about why you keep an art journal, and teach you about the treasures hiding in your own "ordinary day".

Jessica Wesolek

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Journal about Appreciating the Small Things in Life, November 21, 2008

By	BermudaOnion (South Carolina) - See all my reviews

Vivian Swift has led an interesting, nomadic life. After living in 23 different places in 20 years, she decided to stay put in a small village on Long Island Sound. When Wanderers Cease to Roam: A Traveler's Journal of Staying Put is so much more than her journal for a year of "staying put." This is one of those books that is hard to categorize or describe. Yes, it is a journal, but it also tells of Vivian's past (she's kept a journal since she was 19.) There are some tidbits of news from the local village and some delightful quotes. There are also some interesting facts about things like the teacup handle and why we start our year with January. And, oh, the illustrations! Some of that may sound dull, but this book is anything but!

I adored this book. The drawings are beautiful and I found myself poring over every detail in them. The best thing about this book, though, is the fact that it reminds us to take delight in and be thankful for the small, everyday things in life - things like a bird's feather, an animal's tracks in the snow, or a shady spot in the summer. This book was published by Bloomsbury on October 28.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book! Charming. Perfect hostess gift., November 6, 2008

By	Amazon junkie (Bear, DE USA) - See all my reviews

I loved this book. It's absolutely charming - both in the writing and in the artwork (which the author also did). She has a way of writing about common every-day things in a way that makes you look at them differently. I know that sounds like a cliche, but it's really true. For instance, she has a page on mud. Yes, mud. And, believe it or not, after reading that page, I was fascinated by mud and the different kinds of mud. I wouldn't have believed that to be possible. Whenever I'm someone's houseguest, I always bring a gift for my host/hostess. I used to bring candles or baked goods. But now I'm going to give copies of this book.