The Yellow Envelope

January 23, 2017
In 2012, unhappy with the life she and her husband led in Portland, Ore., Dinan and her husband Brian made a decision that altered the course of their lives. Though Dinan looked successful to the outside world, she notes, in this uneven memoir, that all the middle-class trappings the couple had accumulated held no satisfaction. She was consumed by a “vast emptiness.” Her dreams of becoming a writer and seeing the world seemed to have gotten lost along the way to adulthood. The couple quit their jobs; sold all their possessions, including the home they had lovingly remodeled; and set out to travel the world. Before they left on their trek, a good friend offered a surprise gift: a yellow envelope filled with cash along with rules on how to share the money during their travels. Over the course of a nearly three-year trip, the couple visited India, Ecuador, Peru, Germany, Nepal, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Mexico. Dinan dissects her rigid personality and anxiety as she recounts their travels. The yellow envelope’s money helped Dinan understand the transformative power of giving financially and psychologically. Many readers will enjoy the uplifting moments Dinan experiences during her quest; others may find the slog through Dinan’s interior landscape irritating or just plain exhausting.