Fun, Fearless and Female: A Backpacker's Odyssey between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn

At thirteen, Frances Pordes had a dream: travel the world as soon as she graduated from high school. More than a dozen years and four university degrees later, Frances’s dream was still…a dream. As she joined thousands of other commuters riding the subway to and from an uninspiring job each day, she wondered, “Is this really it?”

Then one day fate intervened: her current position was made redundant, and she was given a choice—keep moving up the career ladder in another part of the company or finally—finally—begin living her dream.

Armed with an adventurous spirit, Frances began to plot.

In this inspirational travel memoir, you’ll journey with cheerily rebellious Frances as she explores more than thirty-five countries around the globe. While hopping from Africa to Asia and everywhere in between, find out what happens when Frances tries to stow away on an international flight in a fit of romantic fancy. See how it pans out when she tries her hand at being a deckhand on a bankrupt vessel in the Roaring Forties. And will Frances gain a coveted spot in a silent meditation retreat in Thailand?

Take a leap of faith as you travel with Frances, embracing new cultures and worldviews, pushing ever onward in the global search for meaning.

After earning degrees in cultural anthropology, science and business—and working in Austria, China, Great Britain, Singapore, and the United States, Frances embarked on the journey that inspired this spirited travelogue. Fun, Fearless and Female placed third in the travel category for the Colorado Independent Publishers Association EVVY awards.

Frances has been to over one hundred countries and territories as defined by the Traveler’s Century Club. She speaks several languages and lives in Colorado with her husband and son—when she is not traveling.