THE JOURNEY TO ME
Finding freedom in the inconvenient realities of existence
Travelling solo more than 53,000 kilometers on a motorcycle taught Annette Birkmann to experience the unknown as endless possibilities instead of danger.
“On many occasions in my life I’ve arrived at a point where I’ve thought: Is this it? Whenever I reached a goal, it was with the unspoken expectation that when this has been achieved then my life will be great. It didn’t happen.”
At the age of thirty-one she quit her job as a lawyer in Denmark, sold her belongings and travelled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to fulfill a childhood dream: To ride a motorcycle.
THE JOURNEY TO ME is about Annette’s solo motorcycle journey through Latin America and her search for freedom. It describes the lessons she learned living her dream and her realization that in every experience there was something present: Herself.
THE JOURNEY TO ME WILL BE OUT IN ENGLISH IN MAY 2024. IN THE MEANTIME, YOU CAN READ AN EXCERPT IN ENGLISH HERE.
To buy the book in Danish, click below:
Literary reviews
“A captivating and life-affirming story.”
- Din boganmelder
“There is something to think about when you’ve read the book.”
- Bogsyn
"Well-written and ruthlessly honest account of an outer and inner journey. Although we hear about beautiful landscapes and the joy of riding a motorcycle, it is not a travel book in the usual sense. Rather, it is more an existential adventure of becoming, set in a foreign and often demanding environment."
- DBC (Danish Library Center)
Reader’s Review
“I bought "The Journey to Me" as an audiobook and I was completely spellbound. Got to bed too late because I couldn’t stop. Annette writes very, very honestly and therefore in my view her travel diary doesn’t have the slightly clichéd pathos that often characterizes travel literature. It honestly describes a troubled mind, loneliness, aggression and despair ... as well as the joy of freedom, nature and being able to decide for yourself. Very inspiring if you want inspiration to travel or to get to know yourself better and find out what life you want to live."
- Christina N.
The Route
Traffic in Buenos Aires
At Motocare - in the motorcycle repair and rental shop with Sergio - Buenos Aires
Patagonia, Argentina
Atlantic Coast, southern Patagonia, Argentina
Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
The beautiful peaks of Fitz Roy, Patagonia, Argentina
Riding north on la carretera austral, Patagonia, Chile
Evening sky, Patagonia, Chile
View of peak, la carretera austral, Patagonia, Chile
Cataratas del Iguazú, Brazil
New tires, northern Argentina
Altitude at nearly 5k, on the way to S.A. Cobres, northern Argentina
Salt flat, Salinas Grandes, northern Argentina
Dirt road riding - yippie - in southern Bolivia
A break, southern Bolivia
Outside Cusco, Peru
Riding in the sunset toward Nasca, Peru
Crossing Rio Magdalena, Colombia
Cartagena, Colombia
Caribbean Sea, Colombia
Ometepe, Nicaragua
Baja California, Mexico
Highway 1, California, USA
Death Valley, USA
New York City, USA