A Continental Affliction is now available at all major book sellers. If you can, shop at your local bookstore (via bookshop.org) or direct at bookbaby.com.
A pre-digital odyssey across five continents
A Continental Affliction is an adventure travel memoir spanning South America, Oceania, Africa, Europe, and North America—told with wit, wonder, and the shock of navigating the world on $10 a day with only paper maps, a backpack, and later, a bicycle.
One Passport, Five Continents & Several Questionable Decisions.
A Continental Affliction blends the humor, mishaps, and revelations of an around-the-world journey with the introspection of personal transformation. Set in the pre-digital era, it’s a witty, fast-paced account of one-man trading career stability for unpredictable adventure across five continents—by foot, bicycle, kayak, boat, old pick-up truck, and sheer luck.
Underlying message: Freedom and self-discovery often begin the moment you step outside your comfort zone. Stripped of modern conveniences, the journey proves that getting lost, geographically and personally, isn’t a setback, but the very path to finding meaning, connection, and a clearer sense of self.
In A Continental Affliction, Brian Shannon trades stability for spontaneity, abandoning a corporate career, a forsaken relationship, and just about every comfort he knew. Armed with a backpack, (and later, a bicycle), a $10 per-day budget, and a round-the-world Pan Am ticket, he sets off to circumnavigate the globe in this pre-digital odyssey—with no GPS, no internet, and no clue what lies ahead.
From Brazil’s sun-drenched beaches to New Zealand’s wild highlands, Africa’s dusty trails to Europe’s soaring Alps, Brian’s “plan” unravels beautifully. Along the way, he stumbles into Carnival in the Amazon, narrowly avoids disaster on Ruta 40 in the Andes, accidentally invents safari-by-bicycle, and crashes a wedding in France. He faces culture shock, bicycle woes, language barriers, and the occasional existential crisis—plus an alarming number of hills that are definitely not on the map.
Told with equal parts wit, humility, and disbelief at his own decisions, A Continental Affliction is part travel memoir, part coming-of-age, and part cautionary tale for anyone who thinks “winging it” is a solid life strategy. It captures a time when travel meant folding paper maps, getting lost on purpose, and striking up conversations with strangers because you had no choice.
Whether you’re a seasoned traveler, a committed armchair adventurer, or just someone wondering how badly a trip can go before it becomes a great story, well, this is your ticket.
Spoiler: he makes it back. Mostly intact. Enjoy his love letter to analog exploration.
North America
South America
Oceania
Africa
Europe
Photographs by Brian Shannon
Reviews & Comments
Early Praise
“A celebration of wanderlust, serendipity, and the world as it was before we could Google our way through it.“
Marianne C. Bohr
Author of The Twenty: One Woman’s Trek Across Corsica on the GR20 Trail & Gap Year Girl: A Baby Boomer Adventure Across 21 Countries
Aspects of the Journey
The Travel Elixir
Why leave everything behind and chase the horizon?
Personal & Human
A Continental Affliction explores the sense of identity, belonging, family, and the quiet afflictions that shape one’s life and actions. This lens emphasizes the emotional, intimate side of the narrative.
Cultural & Societal
Reveling in the divides and connections across borders – political, historical, and cultural – A Continental Affliction illuminates how we engage with different communities while celebrating diversity along the way.
Geographic & Environmental
Across five continents, the place is central as both backdrop and character. A Continental Affliction highlights landscapes, the rawness of the wild, and the natural or structural boundaries that define a global experience.
Stories Behind the Story
Meet The Author
“A passion for travel can be an affliction, or it can be a cure.“
Brian Shannon
Brian Shannon is a first-time author, aspiring adventurer, and unapologetic over-packer.
Canadian by birth and American by ZIP, Brian has been a finance guy, software guy, entrepreneur, and occasionally “the guy who knows where the good coffee is.” With an MBA and a career of problem-solving and leadership, he’s also a lucky dad of five, a local-anything enthusiast, and a man with a restless wanderlust.
In 1991, long before Wi-Fi, GPS, or social media, Brian quit his job, sold what wouldn’t fit in a backpack, and bought a Pan Am round-the-world ticket. What followed was an eight-month, pre-digital odyssey across five continents—equal parts misadventure, discovery, and detour—which inspired his debut memoir, A Continental Affliction.
These days, Brian balances writing, running, hiking, traveling, parenting, and working. He lives in Maryland with his inestimable paramour, Stephanie, and is already dreaming of their next adventure.
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