Nick Zoa

On March 6, 2020, world traveler Nick Zoa landed on the remote Pacific island of Kosrae two days before Micronesia declared a Covid-19 travel ban. Nick soon realized that being marooned in a gorgeous, virus-free paradise wasn't such a bad thing. Go Now! is the story of Nick's sixteen months in Kosrae and the epic travels that led him here.

Before coming to Kosrae, Nick visited and/or worked in 158 countries. The colorful stories of his adventures will transport you across six continents, from familiar landmarks to the far reaches of the globe. Overflowing with fascinating history, maps, and more than 100 color photographs, Nick's journeys reveal the beauty and complexity of our world, and universal themes about people in widely different societies. A family in Kosrae will love, laugh, eat, sing and get into mischief just like one in Israel. Nick's amazing luck and his joyful talent for meeting delightful people bring him down unforgettable paths and roads rarely traveled.

Through these tales – at times hilarious, at times nail-biting – Nick shares what he’s learned from these people and places, offering essential advice and road wisdom to help you stay safe and happy should you feel inspired to embark on your own adventures. With Go Now! you will join Nick as he explores Afghanistan, Australia, Chile, China, Cuba, Diego Garcia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mayotte, Micronesia, Mozambique, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tibet, Togo and Uganda! Our world is an amazing and wonderful place, but it’s changing fast. See what's here before it's gone. Go Now!

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Nick has never stopped writing. In 2026, still living on Kosrae, he transcribed and edited The Civil War Journals of William Henry Stifler — the remarkable "Daily Remembrances" of a nineteen-year-old Baptist divinity student in Illinois who kept a journal from 1861 to 1866. Stifler recorded the arc of the Civil War from the edges and center of events, a devastating personal revival, the death of his closest friend at Memphis, and his own enlistment as a 100-day volunteer — all with the relentless honesty of a young man trying to figure out who he is. Written in Spencerian script across five hundred handwritten pages, the journal is a document of rare intimacy, and Stifler himself hoped it would one day be of benefit to those into whose hands it might fall.

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Also forthcoming in 2026 is Traditional Medicine of Kosrae, a pamphlet Nick compiled in collaboration with Kosraean healers and the Kosrae Historic Preservation Office, with support from the U.S. National Park Service. Documenting the medicinal plants, recipes, and healing practices passed down through generations on this small Micronesian island, the pamphlet is both a practical resource and an act of cultural preservation — capturing knowledge that has never before been written down.

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Nick continues to use Kosrae as his base to write and travel. He has now visited 192 countries (and dozens of territories not formally recognized as countries). You can follow his current travels at his website.