Podcast hosts Simon Doong and Lee Catoe talk with Douglas Brouwer about distilling deeper meaning from our travels

By DAVID CRUMM
Editor of ReadTheSpirit magazine

This week, our community of writers wants to thank Simon and Lee—co-hosts of the A Matter of Faith Podcast. Their weekly series is a collaborative effort produced by Unbound: An Interactive Journal on Christian Social Justice, the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, and the Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Click this book’s cover to visit its Amazon page.

In this 47-minute episode of their podcast, the hosts talk with Douglas J. Brouwer about his new book, The Traveler’s Path.

Especially in this time of rising anxieties about people from different races and cultures, the podcast hosts say, we all have timely opportunities to reach out and build healthy new relationships.

In opening the podcast, one of the co-hosts says: “Doug, we’re so grateful to have you with us because we wanted to ask: How does travel help us to expand our understanding of ourselves, others and God? … Now, I do enjoy traveling because I have learned so much in my own travels. I wish as a kid I had done more of that.”

Doug agrees with him and says: “My concern is that often travel doesn’t do those things you just described. My concern is that a lot people do a lot of moving around and seeing things but they remain unaffected by it. One reason for writing this book was to encourage people to have deeper experiences as they travel—and to coach people on ways to do that.”

Doug adds: “Right now, we do need to push ourselves to get out there and make a friend from another culture.”

As the conversation unfolds, listeners will find lots to “take away” ideas and references—like an intriguing metaphor Doug introduces: Are you a cocoanut?

Can you guess what he means by people who are “cocoanuts”? Well, listen to the podcast and you’ll learn.

Doug also recommends other great travel writers who have influenced his own work, such as Jack Kerouac, William Least Heat Moon, and Annie Dillard. Do you enjoy those writers? If so, you’ll almost certainly enjoy Doug’s work.

Listen to the A Matter of Faith podcast with Douglas J. Brouwer here.

Care to get a copy of Doug’s book in Kindle, paperback or hardcover? The Traveler’s Path is available right now on Amazon.

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