Rootless and Restless: A Woman's Search for Meaningful Adventure in Distant Places

Rootless and Restless is an intimate exploration of human and environmental connections in remote parts of the world. In this deeply personal travel memoir, Shivya Nath travels to far-flung corners of the globe, seeking local ways of life on one of the world’s remotest islands off the coast of Chile, in off-the-map Indigenous communities in Myanmar, and in the mountain deserts of Uzbekistan. Along the way, she finds herself caught in a morality police raid in Iran, learns about ancient culinary traditions in Japan, and comes face-to-face with the last living member of an entire species in the Pacific Ocean. In the age of social media, cultural fragmentation and climate change, she draws inspiration from the resilience of local communities, and learns about the power of conscious travel to change not just the places and people we visit, but also something deep within us.

Shivya Nath is a travel writer who grew up in the Indian Himalayas, and quit her corporate job at age 23 with a dream of travelling the world. She pursued a nomadic life for nearly seven years, living out of two bags, spending time with local and Indigenous communities. Her work focuses on the intersection of meaningful travel, climate action and social impact. In her first book, The Shooting Star: A girl, her backpack and the world (Penguin, 2018), Shivya documents her journey from the cubicle to a nomadic life, and from small town India to remote corners of the globe. It has sold over 20,000 copies to date. Her blog is read by nearly half a million people annually, and her words have appeared in BBC Travel, Lonely Planet, National Geographic Traveller, The Washington Post, Travel + Leisure and Conde Nast Traveller, among other leading publications.