adventure seekers will adore this book. armchair travelers will revel in it's pages. this book is for anyone who needs an escape. just get up and go. not to be that girl but you only live once.

This was a good read, but not really my cup of tea. I appreciate the changes Ben was able to make in his life. I think if self-help is a genre that interests a reader, this is a great one. The writing was well done and included a variety of quotes from others to help add to his story.

I will recommend this to my friends who are into self-help and memoirs. I am giving this book 5 ⭐s due to the readability and the writing.

I was given the opportunity to read this book by NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Ben Feder is a high-powered executive in New York City who realizes that he is losing touch with his family because he's working too much, so his wife convinces him to take a sabbatical. The family moves to Bali for 6 months and experiences a new culture, and Ben is able to get more in touch with himself and figure out what he really values and how to live a more intentional life.

I liked the concept of this book. I like that this man wanted to make sure he didn't miss his children's growing-up years and wanted to feel more connected with his wife. It was cool to hear about their experience living in a place and culture very unlike their own (and mine) and the things they learned and enjoyed. I appreciated his descriptions of learning to meditate because I've tried it a few times and got distracted and felt like I failed. He describes his attempts to meditate, the distraction he faces, and how he gets back to what he's trying to accomplish. For some reason, the way he described it made more sense to me than other instructions about meditating I've read or listened to. I even appreciated having a different perspective just because their family is Jewish and I am not, so their experience was different than I would have had (I never thought about how hard it might be to find kosher food when traveling or living abroad).

That being said, I just found it hard to connect with Ben and his experience at times. Neither my husband nor I are CEOs or any other sort of seven-figure-earning careers. We could never afford to live in Manhattan or send our kids to private school, much less take a break from work for six months to live across the world, by way of a two-week safari in Africa on the way there and almost two months of traveling around southeast Asia on the way home. His way of life was just so far removed from mine that I couldn't connect with him. His epiphany with trying to draw fell flat for me as well because I haven't experienced it and so it just didn't make sense to me the way it did for him.

Overall, it's a great concept, and I'm so happy for him and his family that they had this amazing experience. But the book was just fine for me. Not bad, but not great. Overall clean other than one f-word (when they first arrived in Bali and he wondered what on earth they had gotten themselves into, haha). Thanks to NetGalley for the free ebook.

I thought this would be more inspirational but I was uninterested in the direction of this story. This may be geared towards men as an "Eat, Pray, Love" story.

I wanted to like this book but it felt like something that I have already read before. I couldn't finish it.

It is not only teachers who should take a sabbatical year abroad. Do not wait to retire. There is no education like travelling. This should be taught in all schools today. Love reading of people who do so and expats.

I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir of a family who took a sabbatical, to reconnect with each other in Bali. It was fascinating to look at how the writer sought meaning in life through art, meditation, and yoga.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. You can purchase your copy here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079MGJ4FS/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
I received this book two years ago, prior to its release, but I was in the middle of Netgalley lottery and had way more books to read than I had time.
I am now reading this book in the second wave of the Coronavirus or COVID 19. Right now, we have to remember that there are always two sides of the coin and you are the only one who chooses which way to see things. This has been very hard for a lot of people, including me. I have lost my major source of income, but have gained so much time with my children. Time that I will never get back. This book really puts things into perspective!
This book begins with Ben attending an important shareholder meeting in Manhattan. Ben has a high-powered Manhattan job which translates to his job owns him and he does nothing, but work. Did I mention how much stress this job comes with? Ben has four children and a doting wife, Victoria. Victoria was not only a wife, mother, but also she managed a community center and preschool. Victoria had just gotten back from a weekend retreat with her friends and they were telling her about traveling abroad with their families. Ben and Victoria always wanted to do this with their kids, but life gets in the way of plans. Victoria poses the idea of going on sabbatical. They talk out the details and decide this is something that they can possibly do. They discuss it with their oldest son, Sam and he is intrigued to get away from the busy work of his Junior year.
We are then taken on the adventure of living in another country with four kids. Ben and Victoria start their days with some yoga and there are very few opportunities for electronics, especially since there are very few WIFI hotspots. We get to see how much they learn from themselves while on their sabbatical.
I think this book was EXACTLY what I needed right now. Perspective is EVERYTHING! You can choose to see this pandemic as the worst thing EVER or you can think of it as taking a Sabbatical to get your head straight, do all of those things that you said you would get around to. How clean is your house, anyway? I am sure even the cleanest house has a cobweb here and there! I have taken this time to clean the tops of the door frames. When was the last time you vacuumed those bad boys? You can always see another point of view, even when it is so horrible. Until this pandemic is over, you will be finding me in Puerto living room or Puerto Dining room or one of the other exotic locations in my house. We live in the cold Northeast, but you can always pump up the heat and have a summer luau in your living room with your kids. There are so many creative things that you can do to make it fun for the kids. Facetime, Zoom and the million other platforms that you can spend time on camera with your friends safely. If we all do our part and stay safe and distant, we can beat this and get back from our sabbaticals. This book has reminded me how grateful I am to have everything that I have, it may be small, but family is everything. Friends that check on you, despite you really not wanting to talk to them because you are consumed in your funk, THAT IS EVERYTHING! People who will drop off paper towels to you knowing you have not been able to find any! This is the time to be extra kind. Throw a dance party on someone who is in a funk’s yard. Bring a boombox and just play tunes while they wave from inside. They need it!

This was such an interesting read, escapism at its best. How we all would love to just throw our cards in the air and jet off to sunnier climates leaving the rat race behind us. In order to save his family and his marriage Ben Feder headed off to Bali to get his mind back in the right place again and his experiment worked. He learned skills and tactics that enabled him to practice meditation and mindfulness so that he could safely return to New York reassured of the fact that there is much more to life than money, work and material things. This is a book for anyone who is confused or who needs to get their life back on track. It's a really good and insightful read.

I very much enjoy reading stories of people's journeys to self-discovery. Ben was able to do something that many only dream of, in taking his sabbatical trip to Bali and he used it in the best ways. A worthwhile story to read, filled with great reminders for all of us.

I loved it! True story of a family going on sabbatical in Bali as an attempt to slow down and reset life after moving too quickly and feeling out of touch with each other as they lived their lives in NYC. It really made me want to take my own family sabbatical, or more realistically just make sure I'm dedicating enough time to myself and my family. This is one I could see myself reading again in the future.

A most enjoyable read. The author and his family made the big leap so many people dream about but can never do. Moving to Bali to reconnect as a family and experience a world broadening perspective was beneficial to all of them. Getting out of our own little puddle can truly be transformative. Mr Feder writes well and with insight. A definite recommend.
My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for my honest review.

I love how this book moved through time and took you on an adventure with the author. Reading stories, like this one, that focus on finding yourself in the muck of today always leave me feeling more hopeful and optimistic about humanity. This is a great read if you love self-discovery and adventure!

While well written, Ben Feder’s socioeconomic position makes the story of finding oneself hard to relate to. It’s easier for someone with the means of wealth and privilege to take the type of sabbatical he does. His trip to Bali comes across as trite; more of a luxury vacation than travel to find yourself. Overall there was an air of self-importance that made this book difficult to connect with.

This is an interesting story of a business exec who takes a year off to travel with his family so they all can decompress and reconnect. I love memoirs like these, so I expected to enjoy Take Off Your Shoes--and I did. I wish the book flowed a bit better (instead of jumping around between topics), but I still was able to really come to know Feder and his family. Plus, I loved the descriptions of Bali. It sounds like Feder and his family are better off for their travel experiences, and I hope they've been able to keep the zen while back at home.

On a side note, I love the cover of this book.

I normally like books about people changing their lives by moving to a new place. This book did not resonate with me in the least as the author comes across as selfish and egotistical. Particularly offensive is the author is the creator of "Grand Theft Auto" violent video game that has caused so much violence in children and turned many children to a life of crime. After creating this violent video game and gaining monetary success that is obscene he tires of his "boring " structured life and his family schedule and decides to move his family to Bali. He uproots his family and children from schools they loved and friends they cared about. I did not find he learned from this experience but the family did benefit. I found his tone and ego annoying. Nothing is worse then a person who gains wealth at the expense of others and complains about it.

Ben Feder and his family took a leap of faith in taking a sabbatical and he shares his story in Take Off Your Shoes: One Man’s Journey from the Boardroom to Bali and Back. Feder was a successful CEO of a highly profitable company, his wife managed a community center and preschool she had founded, and their children went to a private school. His problem was that his entire family’s over-scheduled lives made them feel less like a unit and more like ships passing in the night. After a suggestion from his wife and a lot of soul-searching, Feder decided that his job had taken the life out of him and that a sabbatical was in order. Ben and Victoria Feder put in hours of research and moved their family of 6 to Bali.

The concept is fascinating and some of Feder’s experiences are worth trying to replicate without taking a sabbatical. Feder was often cut off from email and cell service, something that we all could use from time to time. He made meditation a core goal of his sabbatical. He threw himself into the study of art as a way relaxation with the outcoming of heightening his appreciation of others’ works. He even threw himself into mountain biking with other parents from the school his children attend.

While the memoir is primarily about Ben Feder, there are also some great insights from how the rest of his family deals with the trip. His wife, for a long time, tries to continue consulting with the school she helps run. When she finally lets go, her trip turns into something more important. Their children were enrolled for the spring semester in Bali’s Green School, which had been established by a Canadian expatriate. The school was built on “joy, leadership, and teaching kids to be global citizens” by someone who hadn’t done well in mainstream educational environments. After years of high-pressured college-prep schools in New York, it was a breath of fresh air for his children. Due to the school’s desire to teach more than just testable subjects, Feder’s children increased their political and environmental awareness while in Bali and improved their relationships with one another.

While we can’t all move to Bali for six months, we can look at our lives and think about whether or not we are where we want to be. Rather than let inertia keep us traveling on a train with no end, Feder’s book might encourage you to make some changes to improve your health, your happiness, and your relationships.

The ultimate, walk away from your job and find peace and what that can do for your psyche, soul, and life.

I enjoy reading travelogue type books and this checks all those marks. It was a thoroughly enjoyable read. I recommend this to other and look forward to books from this author.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. For those of us who've been on the career fast track and needed a break, this book affirms that making lots of money and working umpteen hours a day isn't everything. The changes in the author's family life, career and outlook on life after a sabbatical in Bali are beautifully told.