New Book Edited by Female Nomad Author

A consistent bestseller here at Broadway Books is Tales of a Female Nomad: Lving at Large in the World, by Rita Golden Gelman. Gelman, the mother of two (now grown) children and the author of more than 70 children's books, made a huge change in her life in the 1980s: she divested herself of all worldly possessions and became a modern-day wandering nomad. She tells the story of that process and of her first "wanderings" in Tales of a Female Nomad. Here's what she has to say about her decision on her Web site: "I’ve been living and loving my nomadic existence since the day in 1986 when, at the age of forty eight, on the verge of a divorce, I looked around and thought, There has to be more than one way to do life."

That book was published in 2001. Since then there has been a lot of wandering, lots of good work, and a handful of children's books, but nothing else. Here's the good news: We've just learned that Three Rivers Press (a division of Random House) has bought world rights to Break Free, Break Rules, Break Bread, a collection of essays about connection through food, love, and travel from readers of Gelman's first book. Gelman will write the foreward, afterword, and brief pieces that weave the essays together. All royalties will go to the author's charity, the Golden Fund, which helps children in India get vocational training. You can follow along with the author's travels on her blog.

It's been a long time coming, so we're very excited, even if we likely have to wait until some time in 2010 for it to come out. Here's some more of what Gelman had to say about why she wrote Tales of a Female Nomad: "I wrote the book to let people know that if they dare to dig up the buried person inside, to uncover the dreams and desires of the young man or woman they once were, they would probably realize that they can make some of those dreams happen. I do not expect men and women to leave their families and run away to do my life. But I’m hoping that within the context of their own lives and their own dreams, they can awaken some of the spirit that lies trapped inside. Maybe it’s just to sing out loud and loudly. Or perhaps to sit through three movies in one day. Or to go deep sea fishing some weekend when everyone thinks you’re at a church retreat. How about going to a strange city and playing your saxophone on a street corner? Don’t forget to leave the open case with a few dollar bills in it just in front of you."

We also recently learned that the authors travels will bring her to Fox Island (near Tacoma, WA) this month for a free reading on May 20th -- which gives you time to read her book and then go see her!