Charleston Daily Staff Writer’s Latest Travel Book

By David McNamara

As a staff writer for Charleston Daily, David McNamara has been spinning tales of adventures and yarns of fiction for over 15 years. Originally from Australia, his commitment, fortitude and passion (spanning innumerable budget backpacking odysseys) produced its own inevitability in November 2011 with the release of his first book titled “Loves, Kerbsides and Goodbyes”.

He has recently completed his eagerly awaited second travel narrative titled “Beat Zen and the Art of Dave” where he’s continually discovering new places and cultures, and meeting new people. As the playful title suggests, “Beat Zen and the Art of Dave” intertwines humorous anecdotes and travel lore with backpacking philosophy and Eastern spirituality to show that everyone’s journey is a travelogue of sorts. David explains his strong connection with Charleston in his latest book grew after he first visited the Lowcountry in 2011:

“I fell in love and in love with Charleston at the same time – so it’s an incredible connection. And it was right at the time that the genesis for “Beat Zen and the Art of Dave” found its own traction. Just before I arrived in the Holy City I was standing on a figurative and literal border in my life – symmetrically placed to see equally where I’d come from, where I was and where I was heading. There was a physical lyricism to match where I was in life. After five months travelling down the grand isthmus of Central America I was in Leticia in the southwest corner of Colombia. Nestled on the tri-border of Peru and Brazil, I was well beyond the end of the road (and right where I wanted to be) since Leticia is only accessible by boat or plane.”

“There I stood on the Rubicon’s edge of my journey. It took the form of the Rio Amazonas flowing like a giant causeway into Brazil and out into the Atlantic Ocean. Fresh from an ayahuasca ceremony with Jimmy, the local Medicine Man, I glimpsed an arcane conflation of things that seem to visit me on every overland adventure I undertake – usually involving my staring down at my feet or gazing across a vista, marveling at how I got there. I had every intention of jumping on a boat and heading downstream for 8-10 days to Manaus then onto Belem on the coast. But for the first time ever on a trip I decided to curb my insatiable onward desire. I was mindful about returning to Australia to help promote my first published book and wanted to return with some cash still in my pockets.”

“With this in mind I flew up to the US to jaunt up the east coast before catching my flight home. My second stop was Charleston where the magnanimous Couchsurfing community and seductive charms of the South ensnared me. I’ve always been mindful that all travelers indulge in the fantasy that they are on a quest of sorts – everyone searching for their own personal Shangri-La. The genesis of my new book was to highlight my fascination with the delusions, desires and detachments (however misguided or allied they might be) which impel backpackers away from what’s familiar. And although I remain somewhat skeptical that backpacking provides any “real life” answers, Charleston made me start to doubt everything – had I finally found my own Shangri-La? Subsequently I kept returning to Charleston where I fell in love and embarked on a 17,000 mile road trip across North America, which makes a majority of the later part of the book.”

At its essence “Beat Zen and the Art of Dave” is a wending meditation on the modern vagrant and wayfaring lifestyle. To be released in December and just in time for Xmas, David is now calling on everyone from iBackpacker to Beat Zen veteran to join the independent travel revolution and support his crowdfunding campaign by preordering a copy today. Money raised by the campaign will go directly to the design and printing cost of making your very own copy delivered direct to your door.