A beautiful memoir about taking a leap of faith, travelling the world and spreading kindness.

Kim and her husband quit their jobs and embark on a journey around the world. Their friends give them a yellow envelope that contains a thousand dollars with three simple instructions:
1. Don't overthink it.
2. Share your experiences.
3. Don't feel pressured to give it all away.

They travel through Nepal, Ecuador, Peru and beyond and their relationship is challenged and tested.

I loved their travel experiences and this memoir is testimony that life is worth living and memories are made of both good and bad times.

I have read Travelogues before and so I had high expectations as I started reading this book. I was keen on descriptions of the places they visited and Kim did deliver on this.
The second thing I was keen on, was their opinion of the places they visited with focus on the other places they'd been. I wanted to know whether they judged each place based on the places they had been, and aside from leaving Portland behind them, they did not do this. It was refreshing to have them see each place as a new beginning (exhaustion aside).

Kim's writing is personal and makes it easy for the reader to accompany her on their journey, and when they pass on what they were given to share, it opens up a new perspective of life to them.
This is a must-read for anyone about to travel the world.

Thank You to Sourcebooks for providing me with an advanced copy of Kim Dinan's memoir, The Yellow Envelope, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT - On paper, Kim Dinan's life looked great. She lived in Portland, Oregon. and had a loving husband, a stable career, and was a homeowner. Essentially, Kim and her husband, Brian, were building a very good life. However, Kim longed for a different type of life. Kim convinced Brian that they needed to travel the world. He agreed to sell their home, car, and possessions to fund their travels, as long as they took a year leave of absence from work, rather than flat out quitting their jobs. 

A few days before heading out on their adventure, Kim and Brian are given are surprise by their close friends, Michelle and Glenn. They are presented with a yellow envelope containing a thousand dollars, and instructions to give the money away as they see fit. They are not to stress over it, or over-think these acts of generosity, only to follow their hearts and spread a little kindness during their travels. How will the yellow envelope impact their trip? How will travel shape their lives and change their marriage?

LIKE- The concept of The Yellow Envelope is beautiful. I love the idea of how little random acts of kindness can make a big difference. Late in her memoir, Dinan tells a story about when she was in her early 20's and working for AmeriCorps, picking up used furniture for minimum wage. She was poor and just scraping by financially, when at one of the jobs, Dinan was tipped ten dollars. The act of kindness, specifically that she was appreciated, is what stuck with Dinan. It's in this spirit that she hopes, the yellow envelope money was received. The thousand dollars was spread out among many people, organizations, even to help feed starving animals, so none of it was an earth shattering amount given at one time, however, maybe these small acts were enough to affect change. Perhaps the intent and act of spreading kindness is enough? I'd like to think so. I'd like to think that I live in a world where people would feel inspired to commit small acts of kindness, and not feel that they couldn't give, because it wouldn't be "enough." 

I like that Dinan didn't edit out her discomfort. There were many times, especially early in her travels, that she did not give away money, because of her own discomfort. For example, they meet an elderly couple who do not speak English, but who are in desperate need for new shoes. They contemplate giving money or leaving shoes at the couple's house, even anonymously, but ultimately they cave to their own feelings of this being an awkward situation. Dinan and her husband often worry about how their gift will be perceived, although as they grow more accustomed to travel and foreign situations, this fear lessens. They focus more on their intent and less on how it could be misconstrued.

Dinan speaks about her own issues with accepting kindness. In India, she enters a rickshaw competition with two other women, and they find that their rickshaw, affectionally named "Sunny," has a lot of mechanical problems. At one point, they ended up needing shelter late at night, in a remote area, and a man takes them in. He gives them shelter and food, even though he is clearly very poor and his sharing is taking away from his family. At another point, a man goes out of his way to get a much needed part for their rickshaw. These are strangers, and although Dinan is unfamiliar with their culture's customs, she must accept the help. She must accept the idea that generosity between strangers can exist, and that kindness is a cross-cultural concept.

The Yellow Envelope is the right mix of travelogue and personal introspective. Beyond the cultural discomforts involved with travel and the addition of the yellow envelope, Dinan also speaks to her personal problems, including a crisis in her marriage. Through much of her memoir, I wasn't sure if her marriage would survive the year of travel. Was getting out of their element a good idea? Dinan's memoir is beautifully written and deeply affecting.

DISLIKE- Nothing. The Yellow Envelope is a fabulous read.

RECOMMEND- Yes! If you have wanderlust, or are feeling like you need to make a dramatic change to your life, The Yellow Envelope is a must read. My heart felt warmer from having this reading experience, which with the current political climate, is a feeling that I think a lot of people could use right now. The Yellow Envelope is a reminder that kindness is still in abundance in the world and that different cultures have different concepts of what should be valued. It's an eye opening read.

I love a good travel memoir. Some of my favorites are by Bill Bryson. So when I saw the cover for this book and then read the description, I was excited at the possibility of another great travel memoir. Kim Dinan is an excellent author. I thoroughly enjoyed her writing style and descriptions of each of the places she visited. She has a skill that puts you in the crazy streets of India, feeling with all of your senses, everything she was experiencing.

The premise of the book is intriguing. Kim and her husband decided to quit their jobs, sell everything (including their home) and travel the world. As a good-by gift, some friends give them $1000 in a beautiful yellow envelope tied with a yellow ribbon with three easy rules: 1) Don't overthink it 2) Share your experiences 3) Don't feel pressured to give it all away.

At first they have a hard time feeling comfortable in other cultures giving money away, and at times miss their opportunities. Then it starts to become natural and leads to great insight along their journey they never would have gained if not for the special gift. This book is part of Rule #2 - Sharing the experiences. Of course, not all of them, but a great many that we can learn from as well.

What I wasn't expecting was the raw reality of marriage and self identity issues she faced but also eloquently put into words. For this reason, I'd recommend it to adults, but not really teens. There are some intimate details and explicit references that I wouldn't want my children reading, not to mention that most of it wouldn't interest younger readers and the excitement of the travel sections isn't enough to combat the discussion of personal struggles to make it worth it.

I absolutely loved this book! From the very beginning I loved how the book took us on a journey with Kim and Brian and their yellow envelope. Would highly recommend this book!

The Yellow Envelope by Kim Dinan

On May 11, 2012 Kim left a job that she was earning 50% more than her former job. Her husband Brian had one week of work remaining. They sold their home and new car and most of all their possessions except a few boxes filled with sentimental things that they were going to drop off for family to store for them. Kim was a runner and it was out during one of her morning runs that it dawned on her that her life had veered off track. On the surface she had married her college sweetheart, they both had good jobs and they owned a home. Somewhere along the way she felt she had lost the feeling of her potential and excitement of her life.

For years she had been feeling like she wanted to see the world. Kim had majored in English and she always wanted to write. The biggest hurdle of all was to persuade Brian into leaving his job because she wanted to travel as long as they could. She didn't want to set any limits of their time, so they could travel internationally for as long as possible. Lucky for Kim, Brian thought it over and agreed. Brian confided in Kim that his dream to be a naturalist, but he let that dream slide through his fingers because he couldn't overcome his own fear.

Michelle and Glenn, who were good friends met Kim and Brian for a final dinner at a local Pizza shop. As the two couple's talked about where Kim and Brian planned on travelling the evening was coming to an end. Michelle hands Kim a yellow envelope saying it is a gift from her and Glenn. The yellow envelope had a check for $1000.00 and a letter that Michelle wrote to them regarding the gift. The letter read how inspiring and proud of them for having the courage to follow through with their dream. Michelle tells them that during their travels, both her and Glenn wants them to give all of the money away in whatever way they want.

Michelle and Glenn have three stipulations about how they give the money away. Rule number one is "Don't overthink it." They want Kim and Brian to give the money away in any way that makes them come alive. They want them to listen to their soul. Rule Number two is to share their experiences with friend's and family. They are not accountable to Glenn and Michelle or anybody else for how they choose to give the money away. Rule number three is Don't feel pressured to give all of the money away.

This is the first travel memoir I have ever read. The writing was lovely and descriptive and I felt like I was there. It is an interesting concept and it takes a lot of courage to do what Kim and Brian did. I really enjoyed reading this travel memoir. I didn't know it was going to be a memoir until I started the book. Money is only money. It was the spirit in which it is shared or doing something nice for those around them that is inspiring.

Thank you to Net Galley, Kim Dinan and Sourcebooks for providing me with my digital copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book focused heavily on the author's emotional journey while travelling which for me had very little to do with the travelling. Not what I expected

Unhappy in her job and nine-to-five life in Portland, Kim decides to leave it all behind and travel the world, persuading her husband to come along for the ride. At a first glance, The Yellow Envelope might seem to be yet another "I-quit-my-job-to-travel-the-world" memoir, but Kim's story runs deeper than that - all because of the yellow envelope.

The yellow envelope contains money from a friend, with the instruction to give it away freely when they feel the recipients are in need of it. What unfolds over the following year is not just a tale of travelling, self-discovery, and marital (dis)harmony, but how the act of giving inspires them to be kinder and more mindful in their everyday interactions. Kim's journey of self discovery centres the story, one filled with atmospheric descriptions of the places they visit, from the rivers of India to the mountains of Nepal - and one that makes you feel as if you're along for the journey right beside them.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the copy of The Yellow Envelope by Kim Dinan. This inspiring travel book follows Kim and her husband Brian as they disassemble their typical American lives, which had been dissatisfying, and take off to travel the world. Through their journey the find themselves and redefine their relationship. Most importantly though, they carry around with them money dedicated to giving away as they deem appropriate, packaged in a special yellow envelope, which is a going away gift/mission from their dear friends. Through their journey they learn to give, receive and connect in a most fulfilling way.

This is one of those books where you have the opportunity to gain strength and wisdom from someone who had the courage to do what you wish for...

Kim Dinan and her husband Brian have been together since their early twenties, living a safe, secure life in Portland, but the early thirtysomething Dinan feels restless, there must be more out there. She feels as if she’s suffocating. And out of her unhappiness is born a life-altering trip. She and Brian quit their jobs to travel around the world. At a farewell supper friends hand them a yellow envelope with money: they are to share the money with others as they travel and there are three rules: don’t overthink it; share your experiences; don’t feel pressured to give it all away.

Dinan and her husband embark on their trip, heading to South America first, travelling through Ecuador and Peru, teaching for a while, before moving on, heading off for Asia, China, Tibet, India. Throughout the journey there are opportunities to give the money away, sometimes it doesn’t feel right, others the choice is easy. And through it all, Dinan and her husband find that travel really does broaden the mind, exposing them to experiences and people they wouldn’t have met otherwise, propelling them out of the safe existence Dinan felt suffocated by. On India Dinan writes: “Other travelers had warned us that India either cracks you open or kicks you aside. To survive India one had to embrace it for what it was: An incredible, beautiful, hideous cauldron of humanity as stripped and exposed as a skinned deer. If we tried to control our experiences in India, if we tried to make sense of the chaos, we’d hate it. In order to love it we’d have to accept it just as it is.”

But the trip also exposes rifts in their relationship and they find themselves drifting apart from each other. Having been together since they were so young: “We’d spent a decade growing up together. But how much could I grow with someone who still saw me as a twenty-one-year-old girl? Likewise, Brian often accused me of holding over his head dumb decisions he’d made when he was twenty-two or twenty-three. Neither of us gave the other room to change.

“And there were other problems too, deep-seated cracks that’d been growing wider since we’d landed in Quito. Brian was loving and kind but reserved. He rarely shared his deepest emotions, never without prompting, and because he was so closed off, I didn’t feel comfortable sharing mine. When we fought back in Portland this was what we fought about: his silence, and my desire for a deeper connection.”
This is a story about travel, it is about how travel cracks you open in ways you might not have expected. It’s a story about generosity, and the difficulties that come with that too. And it’s a story of navigating a relationship in difficulties while also navigating an unfamiliar world. Vulnerable and questioning, Dinan finds her life altered by the trip. A wonderful, absorbing read: highly recommended.

Kim and her husband, Brian, decide to quit their jobs and sell everything they own to travel the world. I loved how this followed the deconstruction and rebuilding of a person. I can relate, as someone who has recently experienced a quarter-life crisis. I have never felt the same strong urge to go as far as leaving everything behind, but I can understand. The relationship parts were very personal, and I love the things she finds on her journey and how they change her. They are things that I would like to implement in my own life. I think if you like travel and growth stories, you will love this book.

The Yellow Envelope is a unique and honest travel memoir. Many authors skip past the portion of their stories that explain how they afford extended travel and avoid discussing the sacrifices inherent in doing so. The Yellow Envelope is so compelling because Dinan is forthcoming about homesickness, the shortfalls in her marriage, and the fears, anxieties and embarrassments she experiences while traveling. The result of sharing these obstacles is that her triumphs and positive experiences shine all the brighter and leave the reader cheering her on and wanting to share vicariously in her successes. The story is all the more touching because of the heartfelt nature of the money gifted in the yellow envelope; there is a deep element of humanity revealed when Dinan shares the stories that compel her to pay forward this beautiful gift. Ultimately, this is a heartwarming memoir about travel, culture, relationships, and coming into one's own self.

THE YELLOW ENVELOPE:
One Gift, Three Rules and a Life-Changing Journey Around the World
Kim Dinan

My Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️▫️▫️
Publisher Sourcebooks
Published April 2017

SUMMARY
What would you do if you were going backpacking around the world and friends gave you a thousand dollars to do with as you choose? That's what happen to Kim and Brian Dinan. Their friends Michele and Glen Crim told them to give the money away any way they want. But there were three rules: (1)Don't over-think it, (2) Share your experiences, and (3) Don't feel pressured to give it all away.

"When I left on this journey with the yellow envelope tucked into my purse I thought I had something to share with the world. And I did. But what I didn't realize was that the world had something to share with me too. The people I met were teaching me not just how to give the yellow envelope but how to live it. The unknown no longer seemed a threat, but a gift. Could it be that the world wanted to help me, if only I'd allow it?"

Initially, Kim and Brian had trouble deciding what to do with the money in the yellow envelope. It wasn't as easy as they thought it would be. Their first giveaway was in a tiny town in Ecuador where they had been working as volunteers for a nonprofit promoting literacy and arts to children. They purchased a memorial brick to offset the cost of a newly built theater and had Michele and Glen's name inscribed on the brick. The second gift was on an island in Peru, to a couple who had allowed Kim and Brian to stay in their modest adobe home for two nights. The couple hope to be able to send their two daughters to school on the mainland. Kim and Brian thought this money might help a little.

REVIEW
Love, love love the concept of the yellow envelope. The book is worth the read for this alone! Would love to see all of us tuck some money in our back pocket and follow these same principles. Why not? And we don't even really have to travel anywhere to do it. Need is everywhere. If this book could motivate others to adopt this concept it would be awesome.

"The thing about the yellow envelope was, it made ordinary interactions more meaningful. And it taught me how to give, not just give money, but to give of myself."

Kim is honest in her writing about her feelings. She intimately discusses her fears, anxiety, doubts and concerns about her decision to travel and about her marriage. It was a little much at times, but understandable give the major change occurring in her life. Traveling as a couple proved to be difficult. The trip turns into a journey of self discovery for both she and Brian. Most of the book focuses on what she learned along the way. Her writing is nice. Two of my favorite quotes:

"I could see now that it was possible to live a long life poorly, or a short life well, and that at any moment one might shift their position and, after years of hibernation, decide to crawl out of the den and live."

"I'd upturned so many rocks, scavenged like the starving for the missing pieces of myself, just to learn that I'd held them all along."

I would highly recommend this book to anyone is considering becoming a traveler like Kim and Brian did. But also think it is a great read for those wishing to do more for others.

I was a little disappointed that there was not more descriptions of places Kim and Brian traveled. I did not feeling like I had always had a good grasp of the places they visited. Would have loved to hear more details about the interesting sights they saw in the places they wrote about in Ecuador, Peru, India, Nepal, Indonesia, Vietnam and Mexico. Pictures might have been helpful. Particularly of those who were the recipients of the money from the yellow envelope. I really wanted to see the slide show that Michele and Greg got to see!

"I'd gone traveling, seeking something that I could not quite define, but hopefully that I would know it when I found it. I had found it, though the definition of what it was still eluded me." --Kim DInan

Thanks to Netgalley and sourcebooks for an ARC of this book in exchanged for a honest review.

I really enjoyed reading Kim's memoir travelogue because she does what most of us would like to do - leave our mundane life and strike out to explore the world. What I appreciated most about the book was Kim's honesty about herself as well as her experiences and perceptions of the new cultures she immersed herself into. As a explorer and traveller myself, I could relate to many of Kim's experiences.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is keen to discover the world as well as enjoy an interesting and thought-provoking memoir.

I really loved this book. I adore reading travel reflections when I am travelling and so this was the perfect read for my winter break. I loved this take of travel and reflections and also found the narrative of Kim and her husband's marriage to be compelling as well. Fans of 'Eat Pray Love' would definitely find much to compel them here and the countries that they visit: Ecuador, Nepal and Peru are recreated in a very interesting way though the addition of the 'envelopes' They made an unusual and fascinating addition to your more average travel memoir and really allowed me to think about the lives of the people Kim encountered as well as their impact on her. I think it will make a fantastic beach read as there are vividly described sections to compel you as well as more thought-provoking moments to make you close the book, ruminate over and chat with your travel companion/s about. A great read which I know that I'll definitely go back to and would be sure to buy for other people too.

I loved this book. This book is the story of Kim and her husband, Brian, who decide to quit their jobs, sell most of their possessions and travel around the world. This move was prompted by Kim realizing that she just wasn't truly happy with life the way she was living it. With that being said, she realized that she had a pretty good life and was grateful for it. She decided to follow her dream to become a writer and to travel.
Before leaving, the couple is given a yellow envelope filled with $1000 cash by a couple that they were friends with. They are given the opportunity to give the money away to people in any way that it made them happy. There were 3 rules- don't overthink it, share your experiences if you'd like and don't feel pressured to give it all away. The book followed their travels through Ecuador, Peru, Nepal, India, Germany, Vietnam, etc. Along the way, you encounter their interactions with other travelers as well as "natives." You read challenges and success stories about their relationships and their travels.

You read books you may like them. But there are very few books with which you can actually connect. The Yellow Envelope by Kim Dinan is one such book. Thanks to the publishers and NetGallery for providing me the ARC of this lovely book which I could relate with.

It was my first time reading a travelogue and second time in a long time reading a memoir. When I had requested this book on NetGallery I actually thought that the book would be boring but because the synopsis appealed to me, I went ahead and requested the book. I am glad I did and read the book as well.

It takes real guts to just give up your daily mundane life and travel. One needs to deal with a lot of things such as societal pressures, risks of not having a stable job, risk of risking your life for something that is just unknown and unpredictable. Kim took that risk and was supported by her husband who also left everything and the couple decided to travel.

They say “All those who wander are not lost”. This quote fits aptly with the experiences that Kim has shared in the book. Probably this is the most honest book I have ever read till date. Kim has not been shy in stating what was going in her life, how (while they were travelling) she just wanted to leave her husband Brian despite being aware of the fact how much he had supported her in all walks of life. She discovered her truer self even more when she started travelling and how travelling made her mindful of her personal state. She didn’t lose herself but instead found what she really wanted from her life.

Words have a tendency to spoil the feelings and thoughts but Kim chose just the perfect words to spill out her feelings. It is her first book and i am amazed at her style of writing. Kim is a natural writer. She not only has the gift of expressing her feelings in simplest of words, but also the description that she has given of some of the mundane things make you visualize and value those mundane things. Some of my favourite quotes –

- “The emptiness inside of me had spread like spilled oil, leaving a stain of darkness in its wake”

- “When I closed the door behind me, it clicked into place and the tiny sound was magnified by utter silence of my surroundings”

- “Ending your relationship carries the loss of possibility of your future together, pain of past and perhaps the fear of being alone”

- “It is the small kindness, so ripe and available yet so rarely exchanged that turn ordinary interactions into miracles”

- Describing India “An incredible, beautiful, hideous cauldron of humanity as stripped and exposed as a skinned deer. If we tried to control our experiences in India, if we tried to make sense of the chaos, we’d hate it. In order to love it, we’d have to accept it just as it is”

- “Enthusiasm is faith set on fire”

- “That was the irony of travel. The bigger the distance between you and the familiar grew, the smaller and safer and friendlier the world felt”

- “The magic of everything was that we would not have become who we became without each other”

The writing is fast, simple and very personal. A reader may actually relate with what the author has written in one way or the other. Her honesty is infectious and will make you ponder about are you really happy in what you are doing or may even force you to ask the important question “are you really satisfied with your life”. If you read this book as her memoir and if you are able to relate it with you life you may love this book. However, if you pick this book learn about her experiences in different countries, you may be slightly disappointed there. She has described the locations very superficially i felt.

One noteworthy thing was that when she began her travel, I felt there was a slight negativity in her writing about the places she visited (probably because a lot was going in her life at that time with herself and with her husband). And as she herself claims that visit to India would change her completely and you can see that change through her writing. The places she visits such as Nepal, Bali, Vietnam, after visiting India, she has described the good things about the places too and not just the negative ones.

I am in love with this book. Not just because the book is about learning to give selflessly but also because of how Kim has described what was going in her life during the travel and how step-by-step she overcame the problems and found the best solution possible.

Will recommend it to all those whose life is probably complicated at the moment and would want some answers. Even if it is not complicated, just buy this book when it is released on 1 April 2017 and enjoy. I am now also an avid follower of her blog.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

I couldn't wait to read this book - I love memoirs but travel memoirs are my favorite. Kim Dinan and her husband, Brian, make the decision to sell all their house and possessions, quit their jobs and travel the world. They start in Ecuador, with some hiccups, Peru, India, Nepal and Vietnam. Kim is searching for something more than what is expected of her - the house, the job, the mortgage and has a crisis of identity along the way. Before they leave the US on their journey, their friends give them a yellow envelope with money to give away or to use as they see fit. and three rules: #1 Don't overthink it, #2 Share your experiences, #3 Don't feel pressured to give it all away.. Watching how they decide to spend the money (and when they are afraid to) was interesting. The yellow envelope ends up defining some of their thinking and actions during the trip that you would have imagined.

Along the way, cracks that had formed in Kim and Brian's marriage seem to get deeper and they both need time apart to explore if they want to stay together. This is an interesting crisis of conscience to me, as it seems that it would be especially hard to work through those issues a world away from family and friends that would be your first support system.

While I really enjoyed the book, at times the author seems a little selfish and ungrateful for the opportunities she has and for her husband. But this is her story and perhaps that's how she felt at the time. But when I read those parts, I found myself disliking the book more. For all of us that dream of doing something like Dinan did, I would have think that I would have been more grateful for the opportunity, but I guess since I never have given up everything I had to do something similar, I don't know how I would deal with all the adversity that would have come my way. Books like this inspire me to want to get off the beaten path a little more, even if it's just regionally and locally and meet people and see things that are unexpected.

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC via NeGalley on my Kindle in return for an honest review.

I love to travel and was quite intrigued by the idea by the envelope to share with who they thought needed it. I felt that the book could have focused more on those experiences with the envelope than with themselves. I enjoyed learning how a couple grew with their experiences. Kim and Brian were brave to try this experiment out, it can be quite stressful to a relationship. I enjoyed their adventures and the places they visited. They visited places that I probably would not visit. I thought Kim really matured emotionally as the book continued, which made the book more of a memoir than a travel novel. I thought Kim and Brian were brave to share their experiences with us.

For the first half of the book, I was hooked. I'm a huge fan of Eat, Pray, Love and this definitely reminded me of it in a good way. BUT after the first half, it just felt like the story was dragged on and on and on and it would never end. Especially with a book like this one, I feel like the anecdotes could have been pared down and not every single minute of the trip recorded (which I'm sure is not true, but that's what it felt like).