Dare To Do It - I Followed My Dreams

Dare To Do It! I follow My Dreams!  is a memoir of my life.  Of the many journeys that Jim and I have taken, only the most memorable are included in this book.  The writer, Mark Jenkins, said:  “Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky - forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world.”  Those are the kind of trips recounted here.  With the world becoming so interdependent, it is important for people to become acquainted with other cultures, to understand other perspectives and to remove stereotypical thinking.

I wrote this book to inspire people to go out into the world and find their adventures.  When I grew up, travel was only available to the very wealthy. I had no money, but I was able to find ways to travel anyway.  I believe that if a person wants something bad enough, he or she can find a way.  One has to be proactive, and one has to be determined.  There may be roadblocks, but with creative thinking, these can be overcome.

The majority of the adventures that Jim and I experienced were in foreign countries, but equally important was our last trip cycling across North America.  This trip was the most challenging because, by that time, both of us were in our seventies.  Jim had multiple health problems, and, in fact, had just had a pacemaker implanted in his chest before we left.  I mention this because, as I said earlier, if one wants something bad enough he or she can find a way.  We were determined to complete the four thousand mile trip under our power.  We ignored the skeptics who had stereotyped us as too old for such a journey, but we also recognized the need to make practical plans so that we could be successful.  The adventure was, in fact, such a success that we hope to make another cycling trip to other parts of America.

Dare To Do It! does take some courage.  The traveler is confronted with the unknown.  But that is what makes travel so exciting – exploring, discovering and ultimately succeeding in going out into the world, meeting the challenges and coming home a more knowledgeable and empathetic person.

About the Author

For Nancy Rubesch no challenge could stop her to discover the world. Her initial journal of life turned into a powerful book that can inspire everyone who seeks to jump into a larger bowl – regardless of health condition or age. You have to be practical and flexible Nancy says. She wrote the book because she feels that people need to learn other cultures, meet local people, adventure requires to be involved in what is happening. She also wrote the book for her kids.

While in college, Nancy Rubesch was a junior editor at McGraw-Hill Publishing Company in New York City. She returned to the Northwest to complete her BA in English at the University of Washington. After teaching secondary English and Visual Arts for thirty years, she wrote feature articles for a local newspaper and also worked for a local travel agency as the advertising director. She has a Masters in Finance and, in addition, has received several Fulbright and National Endowment too the Humanities awards enabling her to do post-graduate work in Asian and MiddleEast Studies in China, India, Israel, and Egypt. She currently works as an educational consultant and writes itineraries for the owner of a travel agency who specializes in tours to China. She and her husband have traveled to many countries in the world, often visiting their three children who live abroad.