Stray

Breaking Free, Falling Hard and Growing Stronger

Advance Reader Copy

Genres

Women's Nonfiction, Women's Adventure, Cultural Nonfiction, Coming of Age, Travel Memoir, and Debut

Trigger Warnings

Abuse, Profanity, and Sex

Type of Ending

Series

Not part of a series

Author Prefers A Review On

Goodreads or Amazon

Reader Spots Remaining

Number of days to read

Publication Date

Jan 13, 2026

Page Length

300 pages

Available Formats

ePub and PDF

Stray

Breaking Free, Falling Hard and Growing Stronger

Advance Reader Copy

Blurb

Some journeys don’t change where you are—they change who you are.

What happens when the path you choose leads far from everything you thought you knew?

Shannon O’Brien leaves behind a life of routine to chase adventure across South America and Asia. With only a backpack and a restless heart, she dives into landscapes as beautiful as they are unpredictable. But what begins as a journey to explore the world soon becomes a deeper quest to explore herself.

She finds herself lost and dehydrated in Peru’s Colca Canyon, nursing an injured spider monkey in the Bolivian jungle, and inside a high-altitude jail. A crude hospital in Cambodia tests her limits, while encounters with a shaman in Vietnam and a dangerous brush with Moroccan drug lords challenge everything she thought she knew about trust and survival.

When a relationship turns violent and threats close in from unexpected places, the stakes are no longer just about where she’s going—but whether she can make it through.

In a world that constantly shifts beneath her feet, Shannon’s greatest challenge isn’t just survival—it’s learning how to keep moving forward without losing herself.

Details

Genres

Women's Nonfiction, Women's Adventure, Cultural Nonfiction, Coming of Age, Travel Memoir, and Debut

Trigger Warnings

Abuse, Profanity, and Sex

Type of Ending

Series

Not part of a series

Author Prefers A Review On

Goodreads or Amazon

Reader Spots Remaining

Number of days to read

Publication Date

Jan 13, 2026

Page Length

300 pages

Available Formats

ePub and PDF

Author

For over 15 years, Shannon O’Brien has made the world her classroom—immersing herself in cultures and discovering how every journey transforms the traveler. A writer, educator, and lifelong adventurer, she crafts vivid, character-driven stories that explore identity, change, and the emotional landscapes of travel. Her debut travel memoir blends raw honesty with rich cultural detail, capturing both the external journey and the inner one. Originally from California but now based in Malta, Shannon teaches at an international school and continues to write. Discover more of her adventures on her website and social media.