Life is messy and no one is perfect, and Brianna isn't afraid to lean into that reality with the stories she tells here. Brianna Madia is an Instagram Influencer who I followed for a short period of time a few years back.

Listening to this trailblazing woman tell her story with all of the real and raw emotions is unlike anything you’ll experience. I see a lot of women in the comments too and it really is disappointing to see so many young women resorting to tearing other women down because they dislike and disagree with them. Read more about the condition New: A new, unread, unused book in perfect condition with no missing or damaged pages.Madia is completely detached in some of the sections, especially the section concerning Dagwood’s incident. Not agreeing with someone’s choices and beliefs does not mean your cruelty and hatred is okay or right. She evokes the freedom of the west, that open space, and how the untouched and less traveled places in the world can heal our spirit.

Brianna leans into the realities of van life and is frank with her mental health struggles, but it’s written often with a lovely lyrical quality that put you right in the desert with her dogs that make you understand the appeal of solo desert living. In fact, at times it was downright boring, exhausting, and even desperatewhen Bertha overheated and she was forced to pull over on a lonely stretch of South Dakota highway; when the weather was bitterly cold and her water jugs froze beneath her as she slept in the parking lot of her office; when she worried about money, her marriage, and the looming question mark of her future. Instead, Brianna gives herself and her stories space to be gloriously messy, heartwarming, impulsive, painful, joyful, wild, and everything in-between.This time it was different, there was no image of false happiness for Madia to worry about up-keeping, her own emotions of fear, trauma, and triumph were front and center. It may sound odd to talk about an Instagram stranger inspiring me to make a change, but that's what happened. Brianna wrote this beautifully and filled the pages with stories that will make you laugh and make you cry and inspire inspire you all at the same time.