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Travel Blues
Exploring homesickness, loneliness, disappointment or emotional disorientation that can sometimes accompany travel or life away from home.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best books to read about travel blues?
A good place to start is the fiction, nonfiction, and poetry suggested in this reading list. They each explore this theme differently, so you can select what you are connecting with the most.
Can reading really help with travel blues?
Yes, although it should not be viewed as a substitute for therapy. The right book can help you articulate feelings you have struggled to explain, offer reassurance that you are not alone, and provide a new perspective. Sometimes that insight is exactly what you need; at other times, it can encourage you to seek further support.
Who curates the Travel Blues reading list?
Bijal Shah, a bibliotherapist, founder of Book Therapy and The Book Therapy Method and the author of Bibliotherapy: The Healing Power of Reading (Hachette, 2024). She has spent over ten years matching readers to books for all kinds of emotional and life themes, including travel blues.
Do I need a Book Therapy membership to see the full travel blues list?
Yes. The full Travel Blues reading list, with my notes on each book and the personal reading tools, lives inside the Book Therapy membership. You also get the whole A to Z of Book Prescriptions, the journalling, and writing tools and reading progress tracking.
Are these travel blues books suitable if I've never read anything on the topic before?
Yes. The list is deliberately diverse in order to ensure there is something for everyone, whether that's a short memoir, a poem to sit with over a cup of tea, or a novel to properly disappear into. If something feels too close to what you're going through right now, you have the option to put it down. And another book on the list might be more helpful.
Related reading lists
If Travel Blues resonates, these companion themes from the A–Z of Book Prescriptions may meet you next.
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Therapy & Self-Inquiry
Exploring the process of looking inward, understanding patterns and becoming more curious about our thoughts, emotions and relationships.
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Transitions
Exploring the emotional experience of moving between life stages, roles, relationships or circumstances.
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Trauma
Exploring how overwhelming experiences can affect emotions, relationships and our sense of safety, alongside pathways towards healing.
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Thanatophobia
Exploring fear of death or dying and the questions about uncertainty, mortality and meaning that can accompany it.
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Therapeutic Literature
Books that invite emotional insight, reflection and connection, supporting greater understanding of ourselves and our experiences.
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Time Management
Exploring practical and psychological approaches to using time more intentionally while reducing overwhelm and unnecessary pressure.