Karen Gershowitz left home at seventeen, flew to Europe alone, and didn't come back

for three years. That was the beginning of a life built entirely around travel. She has

since visited more than 90 countries, climbed Kilimanjaro, witnessed Berlin shortly after

the Wall came down, and collected stories, friendships, and meals in places most

people only dream about.

She studied ceramics in college but made a deliberate career change to marketing so

employers would pay for her travel. That career as a marketing strategist and

researcher took her around the world, where her skills as an interviewer turned

strangers into storytellers and casual conversations into dinner invitations. She is the

author of two travel books, Travel Mania and Wanderlust, and by her own description, a

travel addic ...