This is the most beautiful book I have ever read. It’s at once a memoir, an ode to favorite literature, a glimpse into teaching – and writing. Joelle Renstrom’s new book, Closing the book: Travels in Life, Loss, and Literature, is a work of art. 

After four years of undergraduate courses focused on finance, I felt very prepared to take the next logical step of attending grad school with an eye toward working on Wall Street. I did not, however, feel prepared to enter the “real world,” and this realization caused me to evaluate the choices I had made that left me feeling bereft of any real life experience. So I scrapped the grad school plans and opted to pursue an opportunity to teach English in Honduras.

I have several Facebook friends whom I’ve met through travel who don’t have a college degree.

China has too many people. It’s no secret.

Teaching, in any sense of the profession, is not all apples and chocolate. It’s hard work. It doesn’t matter what subject or age you teach, or which country you teach in, it’s inevitable that your job will have negatives to go along with the positives.