Today, LitNuts is shining a spotlight on the work of Brenda E Smith, author of award-winning and critically acclaimed travel/adventure memoirs that provide readers with an adrenaline-packed blend of daring exploits and deep reflections:
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Becoming Fearless: Finding Courage in the African Wilderness
- Winner of awards from Readers' Favorite, Storytrade, and more
- 4.7 stars, 172 ratings
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Becoming Amazed: Discovering the World with Eyes Wide Open
- Ranked #1 in Travel Biographies & Memoirs on Amazon.com
- Kindle Edition currently FREE
- 4.9 stars, 42 ratings
Book Clubs: Brenda E. Smith would love to join you and your book club via Zoom to discuss her books. Contact her via the Eye Opener Press website, where you can also find book club discussion questions.
Becoming Fearless
Genres: Africa Travel Books, Traveler & Explorer Biographies
Paperback from $15.49
Audiobook from $21.83 ($0.99 via Audible)
Ebook from $9.99 (Free via Kindle Unlimited)
An inspirational true story that showcases what is possible when you step out of your comfort zone into the wild.
Coerced by her boss and fellow river guides, Brenda Smith reluctantly embarks on a rafting trip through a vast Tanzanian game reserve. If she can survive twelve days on the remote jungle rivers, then she must scale Africa's tallest mountain. After twenty-eight years of a safe and predictable life, Brenda is terrified of what awaits her in these dangerous wildernesses.
She comes face-to-face with angry hippos, roaring lions, and stealthy crocodiles, and struggles with the extremes of unbearable heat and hypothermia. Despite the harsh external threats she conquers, her greatest challenge is a profound inner journey—a courageous transformation as she uncovers the internal source of her fears and discovers the personal strength to do anything.
Awards/Recognition for Becoming Fearless
- Best Non-Fiction Travel Book 2023 by Reader Views
- Winner Non-Fiction Regional-World 2024 by Storytrade Awards
- Silver Medal for Non-Fiction Adventure 2024 Readers' Favorite Awards
Becoming Amazed
Genres: Travel Biographies & Memoirs, Adventurer & Explorer Biographies, Biographies & Memoirs of Women
Paperback from $19.99
Ebook: FREE
A journey to inspire you to chase your own wild dreams.
Brenda's journey began with rafting and mountain climbing through the untamed Tanzanian wilderness, as chronicled in Becoming Fearless, but what started as a step outside her comfort zone soon became an insatiable quest for the extraordinary, pushing her to explore some of the most remote and breathtaking corners of the globe.
From Bolivia's rugged landscapes to Ethiopia's hidden tribal territories, from the enigmatic villages of Pakistan to the leech-infested forests of Sri Lanka, Brenda’s escapades are both awe-inspiring and terrifying. She confronts everything from revered idols exacting mysterious revenge to navigating eerie second-dimension spaces. The stakes reach their zenith in the brutal murder of a friend by terrorists—a moment that forces Brenda to reckon with the harshest realities of the world she craves to explore.
Through every trial, Brenda gains profound insights, emerging stronger, braver, and more enlightened. Her stories are an adrenaline-packed blend of daring exploits and deep reflections, perfect for fans of Eat Pray Love, Wild, and Tracks.
Praise for Becoming Amazed
"The fires of transformation blaze in this superbly delightful portmanteau of a book." ~Richard Bangs, Explorer
"Smith takes readers along on her amazing journeys...inspiring us to seek our adventures outside our comfort zone, and to explore and appreciate our diverse world." ~Judi Wineland, Founder of Overseas Adventure Travel
"Smith's retelling of these first encounters with remote rivers and the people and wildlife met along the way are the makings of river running history." ~Bridget Crocker, author of The River's Daughter
About Brenda E Smith
Spellbound by wanderlust after working as a whitewater river guide, Brenda has lived, worked, or traveled in more than forty countries. While overseas, Brenda pursued adventures on less-traveled roads through remote villages, collecting a raft of stories about her exploits. Now retired, she lives in Belfast, Maine, documenting cherished memories of her escapades in memoirs, essays, and poems. When the ocean calls, she can be found rowing a dory in Belfast Harbor. Learn more and sign-up for news from Eye Opener Press at EyeOpenerPress.com.