Honeymoon With My Brother, Wisner

Ladies, ladies, do I have a single gentleman for you! He is handsome (hoo-boy is he!), charming, a little shy and a world-traveller. He is Kurt Wisner, brother to Franz Wisner who wrote the above-mentioned book. Here's a peek:


Yes, okay, so Franz is also ridiculously handsome, but he's now taken. And I can't have Kurt so he is up for grabs ladies!

So the point of this post is not to ramble on about how remarkably handsome, sweet, polite, warm and charming the Brothers Wisner are (although I could, because they are). The point is that I have yet to mention this delightful read. I offer up excuse Number One which is that I have been preparing to leave for the wilderness for the next two months, but it's still a weak explanation.

Imagine you are ready to spend the rest of your life with someone. Your job is perfect. You have a great car, a house, fabulous pay and a girl you want to have babies with. Then with only a few days before the arrival of guests from all over to attend your well-planned, fabulous meaningful wedding -- she has her brother call to tell you that she can't do it. He isn't the brother noted in the title. No. That brother encouraged the dumped one to continue with the wedding anyway, but have a party instead. It worked. And so began a rolling ball that hasn't stopped and only gets bigger and better. Franz asked his distant, but supportive brother Kurt to attend his already-paid-for honeymoon with him. And it was on THAT honeymoon that the idea came up to bank all their bucks, sell what they could, store the rest and depart on an extended honeymoon. Yes, just the two boys.

Two years and 53 countries later, they have a book, tour across the country in a VW van, recruited Tom Cruise as a fan, signed a movie deal, have another book in the works and, well, Franz has since married and become a father. WHEW! It's no easy feat to accomplish this sort of thing. You have to be incredibly open and ready for (truly) anything to be willing to ride buses and taxis in Zambia, Botswana, Kenya and Zimbabwe; drive a new Saab across the European continent from Sweden; hike in the Andes; meet the creatures of Galapagos; trek up and down Machu Picchu; cavort in Brazil and more.

Honeymoon With My Brother is less about the recovery from a dashed fulfillment of the American Dream than it is about exploring the world outside yourself. It's about how life often only gets better after you think it has gotten as bad as you think it can get. It's about reconnecting to family (old and young), about learning how the rest of the world lives, about how to survive on your own wits and instincts. It's about taking risk and following your passions. No matter the cost. For the reward can only be happiness unlike anything you had thought possible.

An easy read that leaves you with big smiles, you will want to share this book with everyone who has ever had the rug pulled out from under them. Which is just about everyone.

Thanks again boys!