One Year Off

Leaving It All Behind for a Round-the-World Journey with Our Children

By: David Cohen

Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell

Have you ever wanted to take a year off from your life? A meandering, serendipitous journey around the world with your family? It sounds impossible. But one day, David Elliot Cohen, co-creator of the best-selling Day in the Life and America 24/7 book series, decided to make this dream a reality. Over the course of six months, he and his wife sold their house, cars, and most of their possessions. He closed his business and pulled their three young children out of school. With only a suitcase, a backpack, and a passport per person, the Cohen family set off on a rollicking round-the-world journey filled with laugh-out-loud mishaps, heart-pounding adventures, and unforeseen epiphanies. In Botswana, the Cohens's tiny motorboat is charged by a hippo. In Zimbabwe, lions ambush a buffalo outside the family's tent. In Australia, their young daughter is caught in a riptide and nearly pulled out to sea.

In One Year Off, you can join the family on a trek up a Costa Rican volcano, cruise the canals of Burgundy by houseboat, and ride ferries through the Greek Islands. Later, as the Cohens wander further off the tourist trail, you can drive through the villages of Rajasthan, traverse the vast Australian Nullarbor, and discover the charms of Cambodia's Angkor Wat and the hidden shangri-las of northern Laos. Over the course of these adventures, the Cohens learn to live as a family twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend time together without the distractions of modern life. The author rediscovers the world through his children's eyes and gains new perspective of his own life. This humorous, heartfelt story is the next best thing to taking the trip yourself.

©1999, 2001, 2011 David Elliot Cohen (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

fun filled travellog

well it’s a funny book with travel stories .
What I wanted was to see how homeschooling is done , how budgeting is done , how the nitty gritty of year of , but the author spared all that . So was just a fun book

enjoyed thoroughly

Doing 6 mo travel now with my family. looking for reading to share insights and experience. very well written and thoughtful. i liked narrator too. thanks Mr. Cohen, great story and insights.

entertaining and informative on a personal level

I liked the stories he shared about the places they went, as well as the experience of taking a year off with your family. the practical advice and lessons learned.

More places to add to my bucket list

I am ready! I want to see India & south Africa now. these were never before only list. learned about some great new places... Now to sell the house :)

Loved it

Wow so inspiring. Thanks for sharing all your adventures. Makes me excited to plan some longer term travel with our family too.