A journey from the edge of technology, but it rang bittersweet for me, still living in a rural area plagued with little or no internet connection. The road trip is so personal and unique to everyone who embarks, Megan and Mark had a compelling reason to hit the road, and in some ways she is very frank but I am still not sure how they made money the first couple of years.

Growing up as a child of the 80s and 90s, this book brought back a lot of memories about the advent of the Internet. I still remember getting my first email address and my brother having to explain its use to me!

Readers younger than I, for whom the Internet is as normal, natural, and ever-present as air or breathing, will get a kick out of the read; Edwards and her husband are influencers at the beginning stages of the Internet, quite the other side of the coin from the Kardashians, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, or the darlings of tomorrow I haven't found out about yet.

Readers my age and older will enjoy the trip down memory lane, of very different times. The read captures the slow--and then, suddenly, very quick--adoption of "teh intarwebs" and the struggles (and open doors) that come along with it.

Content notes: several parties that included a closer look at drugs, alcohol, and "entertainment" than I personally needed; language.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Excellent example of turning a hardship into something very positive. The book is well written and kept my interest from start to finish.

We follow Megan and her husband through the most drastic path they could've chosen to follow after a California wildfire devastates life as they know it. Taking the true road from the ashes, we accompany them along for the ride of their new lives, in their new "mobile mansion." Readers will relish in the reality and the imagery of a life well changed. Not to mention, these drastic changes are goals for many people in today's world. Worth the read.

I received a free digital copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The edition I received is the 20th year anniversary one, published in 2018, the first edition being published in 1999. The book can be summed up as a travel memoir matching in timeline with the infancy of the cyberspace. After a wildfire incident in 1993 that burned their house down, Megan and Mark Edwards, together with their dog Marvin, decide to pursue their dream of being free and traveling across the US in a 4x4 RV, together with all the implications of that lifestyle. I'm a pretty well-traveled person myself, so the minutia of the travels themselves did not hold a lot of interest to me. What I did find very interesting and enjoyable was seeing how the world perceived the emerging cyberspace at the time, with its browsers, modems, storage devices, emerging digital communication such as email as well as one of the very first travel websites that ultimately became the financial backbone of their travels through travel journalism. It can be considered a one of a kind, pioneering book as far as these aspects are concerned, definitely worth a read if you're passionate about travel and the emerging cyberspace of the 90s.

"Roads From Ashes" by Megan Edwards ~ As the saying goes, when life gives you lemons....make lemonade! And, so from the ashes of the 1993 California wild fires comes what many of us day dream of.... Hitting the road with no particular destination and no time restraints. Travel either from the West coast to th East coast and bathe in the sunrises and sunsets from North to South. Meet the sculptor in Idaho and cooks and craftsmen of Appalachia. Live the birth of the internet..... "the web" ..... and experience their lows....breakdowns along the road and at times pinching pennies. Be in awe of Apple blossoms and cherry blossoms. Take a ride and share in their journey. "Roads From Ashes" is both a travel book and memoir.

Husband and I want to live in an efficient home. A floor plan that is less than 1,000 square feet, which apparently went the way of the dodo in the late '90s. Making our dreams a reality has alluded us, and it's built some frustration.

Then this ARC came through my Netgalley. The Lord must have heard my quandary and provided some much needed guidance. I didn't waste any time requesting a copy. Now I'm itching even worse to get out of here, but at least I now have some ideas on how to make our dreams a reality.

Megan Edwards's home caught on fire back when the internet was nothing but a fledgling idea. With nothing to their name, she and her husband decided to buy an R.V. and hit the road. They didn't want the stereotypical experience of campers hauling themselves from state park to state park. They wanted to work while exploring the United States.

Megan recounts their adventures as they struck out on a road less traveled and made money doing it. Megan and her husband pioneered a lifestyle that was little thought of in the '90s. With that endeavor, they came across many challenges and plenty of frustrations. Megan captures all the anxiety and pressure of living life off the beaten path, but she also has a way of capturing the humor that comes from failure.

The most surprising part was all the interactions during their travels. They really met the cream of what the United States has to offer. All those people are really why they managed to have their success, in my opinion.

There is a ton of nostalgia to this book--which sealed my love for it--but all of the concepts still hold value to a modern reader. If you dream of a mobile life, or already have the fortune of living it, this is a book you should really read.

It was a pleasure touring around the USA with Megan, Mark and Marvin. Megan's writing is informative and interesting, and touched with a good dose of humor. I enjoyed meeting everyone that Megan wrote about and getting to know the country a little bit better. Thanks for taking me along for the ride.
#RoadsFromTheAshes #Megan Edwards

An interesting recent history road trip. I enjoyed the road trip portion. I was just starting college when the road trip was happening and was both on the cusp of this and not really aware of the bigger picture. I found it an interesting story and I think those closer to the author's age might find it even better from a nostalgia perspective.

This was a unique memoir of the author and her husband's travels in a custom built motor home after losing their home to a wildfire. I found their journey to be interesting, but found that the author spent too much time on certain things, which made it drag a little.

Another great memoir. I truly enjoyed reading about Megan and Mark as they travelled in a souped up RV after losing their home and most of their possessions in a fire. So many these days are ditching (nearly) everything and hitting the road, but it was a different world 20 years ago in the early days of the internet. Fun read, especially for anyone who has ever dreamed of hitting the road full time.

Thank you to Imbrifex Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Megan Edwards brings to us, in her memoir Roads from the Ashes, an excellent picture of California life in the 1990's and up, the personal pain of losing all you possess in a single day, and the joys and angsts of following your heart down back country roads in a four wheel drive motorhome. Too I found the outlines of various cities that I too knew and loved back in the day, and spent some sad time picturing them as they are now. And I had forgotten the frustrations of early internet days. That I wouldn't want to have to re-live. 2019 is just around the corner and maybe Jerry and I are ready for it. Our backpacking days are over but maybe car camping isn't so plebeian after all....

The Phoenix One and the adventures of Mark, Megan and of course Marvin will keep you entertained for a couple of days and awake the slumbering traveler in your soul. Snail travel but without below ground storage lockers and cabinets and coat closets. Revcon is still making motorhomes but I didn't find anything like Megan's model. I'd always wanted to drive into the sunset with my bed on my back but not sure I'm ready to do without at least some of my stuff....

This is an excellent memoir, originally published twenty years ago but well worth the re-run. By the end you will find yourself appreciating the introduction of life as the Edwards lived it for the seven years they traveled.- I laughed and cried and sadly said goodbye to my dream of cross country motoring. I'm not tough enough.