Fearless Footsteps: True Stories That Capture the Spirit of Adventure – All Aboard!

Oporto, Portugal

After backpacking around Europe and the Middle East, my sister and I decided to set off on one more trek together, this time around Portugal. Having survived dodgy diets, malaria and a terrifying bus crash, we figured this would be a cruisy experience however a nerve-racking overnight train trip soon destroys our confidence as we are stalked by would-be assailants with no hope of escape.

All Aboard! is a tale of perceived, sweat-inducing fear, the type that can dog you when you’re at your most vulnerable, exhausted, hungry, lost… but it also illustrates how deciding to rise above that fear can actually overpower it. My real-life anecdote about facing anxiety whilst on the road in Portugal won me a coveted spot in the thrilling adventure anthology, Fearless Footsteps: True Stories that Capture the Spirit of Adventure by Intrepid Times.

Travelling the world is an exhilarating, eye-opening, life-affirming experience. But it can also be scary to even think about. There are language barriers, borders to cross, planes to fly in, and of course, the mystery of an unknown land. It can be difficult to take the chance, even when you’re yearning for adventure.

This inspirational collection of true travel stories proves that the best journeys are to be had when you feel the fear but go anyway. From a nervous flier anxiously taking to the skies for the first time to a female traveller braving the Middle East, from a death-defying hike on an Indonesian volcano to the anxious freedom of finding yourself alone on the other side of the world, these stories are certain to send you looking for your passport.

Created by the popular travel writing website, Intrepid Times, as part of an international writing competition that saw entries pouring in from across the globe, Fearless Footsteps is travel writing at both its most exhilarating and its most introspective. Covering every continent from Africa to Antarctica, these carefully selected stories get to the heart of what it means to be a traveller and see the world with courage, open-mindedness, and relentless curiosity.

Published: November 2020
Publisher: Exisle Publishing in conjunct with Intrepid Times, $29.99
ISBN: 9781925820577
Format: Paperback 240 pp
Ideal for: 15+, adults, travel enthusiasts, adventure seekers
Type: Travel anthology of true travel stories

Buy the Book: Amazon Australia, Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon Canada

For personally signed copies Contact the author

Published Reviews & Interviews:

This collection invites readers to witness intimate experiences of people overcoming their fears abroad. In the process, readers share in the wonder of life-changing encounters that inspire and hearten. The journeys, life lessons, and joys that each contributor shares are a reminder that travel can afford us an opportunity to challenge ourselves and face our fears. Travel can completely subvert our worldviews and offer unique perspectives on culture, people and how to live a life. From these stories, it is also apparent that fear can manifest in a multitude of ways, and that travel can mean something different to us all. Weng Yi Wong Lots Wife Magazine online

Just read your scary story ‘All Aboard’. What a nightmare of a journey. So glad you lived to enjoy another day and tell the tale! A recommended read. Thank you, Norah Colvin Early Childhood Educator, Founder of ReadiLearn

A neat book for those missing the world during lockdown I recently finished reading Fearless Footsteps and was pleasantly surprised with the depth of the narratives. The format is great – thirty-something short stories makes for perfect bedtime reading or two or three stories over an extended lunch break. If you’re like me and missing the big wide world, this book will make you more excited to plan your next adventure. It also gives a unique perspective on how fear can mean different things to different people – which is in itself is quite interesting. Highly recommend for anyone looking for an exciting, accessible, and diverse set of stories to keep the wanderlust (temporarily) at bay! Awesome read.5 Star Amazon UK customer review

This book took me deep-sea diving, volcano climbing, taxi-riding and most importantly, through the individual lives of so many people who found their strength through traveling. For anyone looking to travel from the comfort of their couch, this is an excellent collection of stories to curl up with. 5 Star Amazon US customer review

I love to travel. Recently, travel got harder, and scarier. The stories in this engaging book told me that I am not alone. Great stories to dip into when you would otherwise be booking flights. 5 Star Goodreads review

What a fascinating read! I thoroughly enjoyed your story “All Aboard” – I felt like I was there with you! Other stories were very good too and it is remarkable that some of the authors are here to tell their tales. Janette Bridger, Avid Reader

Carefully curated and covering every continent, the true stories see travellers swallowing their fear and striking out, taking language barriers, borders, different cultures and the unknown in their stride. At a time when the whole world is having to pause, reset and rethink priorities, these inspiring first person pieces also show how humans have the innate ability to rise to life’s many challenges. The House of Wellness

…this book inspires you to go after what you want. It proves that curiosity can be stronger than fear… Anxiety Gone

With 36 different travel stories to enjoy, you can experience again and again what it’s like to face your fears and come out the other side.Goodreads review

What a refreshing read. Each series is a quick interesting story about different travels. With each story told boldly true and detailed from beginning to end. Another great book by EXISLE. Every word correctly placed and put with great editing by the editor and new co editor Jennifer Roberts. 5 Star Amazon customer review

Great travel stories to help you over come fear. Fear and travel are more closely linked now than they have been for a long time. Fears of illness or disruption mingling with all the other anxieties that plague us on our journeys. In this context, this collection of travel tales provides both reassurance and inspiration. It helps one realize that you are not alone… After reading many of the stories in Fearless Footsteps – a woman traveling alone in the Middle East, a traveler persevering after a vicious dog-bite to reach Antarctica, a terrified flyer forcing herself to get on the plane no matter how much her hands trembled – a portrait emerges of travel not as something easy or “convenient,” but as something much more important. To travel is to experience fear. This book is a great reminder that if you’re not afraid, then maybe you aren’t trying hard enough.5 Star Amazon US customer review