Vacation

by Jeremy C. Shipp (Goodreads author)

book data

114 ratings, 4.17 average rating, 44 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		47%
4		28%
3		19%
2		1%
1		2%

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published

April 10th 2007 by Raw Dog Screaming Press

binding

Paperback, 164 pages

url

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1...

literary awards

Bram Stoker Award Preliminary Ballot, Wonderland Book Award Best Bizarro Novel Nominee, P&E Readers' Poll--ranked #3 horror novel of 2007

isbn

1933293411 (isbn13: 9781933293417)

description

"Shipp's clear, insistant voice pulls you down into the rabbit hole and doesn't let go."
--Jack Ketchum

"[Vacation] is ...more

[close] "Shipp's clear, insistant voice pulls you down into the rabbit hole and doesn't let go."
--Jack Ketchum

"[Vacation] is an intriguing, challenging, literate, provocative novel I'm not sure I understand and suspect I'm not meant to… I recommend it to those who find reality boring; it may make them see it in new ways."
—Piers Anthony

The world has, since the inception - intentional or otherwise - of humankind, always been a dubious plane of existence. You'd be hard-pressed to find an author, poet, artist, musician, politician, holy man, or everyman who has never spoken out concerning the human condition, from the tiniest fib to the most horrific act of genocide. Newspaper columnists, Sunday preachers, eastern philosophers all dissect the meaning of life in their various fashions - but Jeremy Shipp's Vacation, a first-person tour de force that takes place in an alternate universe and / or future-in-the-making, actually takes the human condition and turns it inside out.

On the surface, Vacation is about a disgruntled English teacher named Bernard Johnson who goes on Vacation (yes, proper capitalization) with an ex-student, once-male, now-female friend and discovers the world is not what he initially thought it to be.

Okay. Simple enough premise - you see it all the time in various forms of literature (well, maybe without the sex change). Peel away that superficial layer, though, and you soon find yourself entangled in a labyrinth of spiritual testing and social commentary unflinchingly portrayed by Shipp's characters. In this world, society exists in two major flavors: the Tics and the Meeks, the former being the well-to-dos of the industrialized nations, the latter being the poor, the exiled. Using this metaphor, it quickly becomes obvious the Tics are our own pop culture, the pill-popping, credit-card-wielding, overfed, and over-stimulated masses who have been shielded from the terrible truths of the world in a sort of global propaganda scheme to bolster big business. The Meeks are, well, everyone else - a grassroots conglomerate of militants who have cleansed their bodies and minds of all social poisons. Somewhere in between is the Garden, an external haven lead by Noh, who seeks to seed truth back into the world, one mind at a time.

Bernard's adventure plays out in the classic escapist fashion - on crack. Indeed, much of his transformation has to do with the altering of his mind, the skewering of his perspective, so that he may glimpse the dream he's been living from the outside. He goes on Vacation, falls in love, becomes a tool for the Meeks, and ultimately helps to realize Noh's vision of social revolution - but don't expect any of this to be A-B-C, for the strength of Shipp's narrative lies in his ability to toss the ball to his characters and trust that their decisions, their reactions will guide the story true. The underlying meaning is present throughout, but it is quite obvious from the start that you, the reader, are just as responsible as Bernard in coming to your own conclusions.

Shipp's style in Vacation demands an agile approach, as various scenes shift seamlessly between dreams and reality - often without warning. I'm reminded of S.P. Somtow's Riverrun Trilogy: one quarter real, three quarters surreal. Considering the concept, I can't imagine it any other way.

Vacation is a potent social theory, a spiritual hopscotch from start to finish. With interesting scenarios and thought-provoking dialog, it is a compelling reason for fans of psychological fantasy to look up Jeremy Shipp. --Jesse Gordon [close]

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02/26/08

Amelia rated it:

Read in March, 2008

Well, I have thought about this a lot over the last two days. In light of my last review, I wanted to be fair and yet, not over compensate. I vacillated between three and four stars for a while, but due to the fact that the book actually caused me to give up sleep (I stayed up until midnight reading the last few chapters, I had to see how it ended), I felt that it deserved the upgrade. Those of you who know how important my sleep is to me will understand that!

On my first attempt a...more

Like this review? yes (6 people liked it)

43 comments

11/20/07

Keith rated it:

Read in October, 2007

ONE CAN ONLY PRAY to the Pax-dishing government conspiracy theorists that Jeremy C. Shipp's inaugural dip in deep end of the novel pool is not his last. And if the prayers do go unanswered, those still in the living world just lost the one thing that might make life worth living. Vacation is a surreal jaunt skittering across the calm surface of social norms (on an ocean that certainly doesn't exist) hellbent on splashing waves of ever-disturbing rings disrupting the way one thinks: As if you cou...more ONE CAN ONLY PRAY to the Pax-dishing government conspiracy theorists that Jeremy C. Shipp's inaugural dip in deep end of the novel pool is not his last. And if the prayers do go unanswered, those still in the living world just lost the one thing that might make life worth living. Vacation is a surreal jaunt skittering across the calm surface of social norms (on an ocean that certainly doesn't exist) hellbent on splashing waves of ever-disturbing rings disrupting the way one thinks: As if you could still think for yourself. And it deserves a fast read. Except that one might miss out on a rather grand experience that begs to be savored like an aged box wine. Read it like your life depended upon it. Then read it again; you'll be both happy and uncomfortable that you did.

From the cover snippet:

"It's time for blueblood Bernard Johnson to leave his boring life behind and go on The Vacation, a yearlong corporate-sponsored odyssey. But instead of seeing the world, Bernard is captured by terrorists, becomes a key figure in secret drug wars, and, worse, doesn't once miss his secure American Dream."

Yes, that is Vacation all summed up in a neat little literary bouquet garni dunked in a larger world of haggis. It is a valid description, but only like the word "water" can singularly describe the planet Earth. There is a lot going on under the verbal covers that make up the 158 pages of Vacation. And, while 158 pages may seem short, the world Shipp reveals nestled in those pages is a vast society of organized crime set on one of two sides: Either keep everyone from the truth or blast the truth around the world like a revolutionary gunshot. (The truth is something you'll have to read the book to learn)

Do yourself a favor. Take a blank sheet of paper and your favorite pen. Draw ten blank lines randomly on that piece of paper like a fill-in-the-blank test from grade school but without any questions. Now fill in those blanks with the most glorious adjectives that one might use to light up sentences meant to describe Vacation. Having read this book or not, no matter how creative you might be in choosing these words, you will have done Shipp and Vacation an injustice. The only way out of that hole is to buy the book and read it in your sleep. And hope the dream machine isn't broken.

(less)

Like this review? yes (4 people liked it)

1 comment

11/24/07

Wandaful rated it:

Read in June, 2007

recommends it for: Everyone

Awesome story
Awesome writing
Awesome author
Jeremy Shipp is currently taking the world (as we know it) by storm...!!!
Or is that, Jeremy (as we know him) is currently storming into the world ????
Either way, this writer is no storm in a tea cup.... although I have heard some sneaky rumours that he reads tea leaves for coconut monkeys.......
Go figure..!!!

Like this review? yes (4 people liked it)

1 comment

07/15/08

C.B. rated it:

Read in August, 2008

recommends it for: anyone

Vacation Penalty

People love vacations, need vacations, jump at the chance to take vacations. The blossoming thoughts of laughter and fun and mystical locales unseen sparkle with possibility in the mind’s eye. The rush to get there, wherever there may be, casts a thrilling tenor to the days and weeks leading up to that moment of departure. It is this event, Bernard (Bernie) Johnson thinks about a brief time, a moment really, subsequent to his conjuring a quick rundown of his accompl...more Vacation Penalty

People love vacations, need vacations, jump at the chance to take vacations. The blossoming thoughts of laughter and fun and mystical locales unseen sparkle with possibility in the mind’s eye. The rush to get there, wherever there may be, casts a thrilling tenor to the days and weeks leading up to that moment of departure. It is this event, Bernard (Bernie) Johnson thinks about a brief time, a moment really, subsequent to his conjuring a quick rundown of his accomplishments and placements in the academia hierarchy, to summarize it thusly, “Writers may think their words are important, but I’m the one who decides what those words mean. Whose words are worthy.” A summation which in itself does not sound such a bad lot. It is the tag line that raises the red flag, “I’m a literati god. Then why aren’t I as happy as an endorphin pumped clam?” immediately followed by him swallowing a Pax pill.

Seems old Bernie is an unsatisfied customer, an unhappy camper, a thirty-five year old sufferer of the malaise of modern man. Mid life, unfulfilled expectations, caught in the snare of impending end game defeat, it is no wonder that Bernie finds the incessant need to obsess, lament, and pop Pax pills in rapid succession, in short, do everything within his power to end his dismally perceived downward spiraling arc. Settling on a vacation, the generous corporate sponsored yearlong vacation, appears the most lucid idea he’s had in some time. Even his twenty-one year old girlfriend, Hillary, agrees, “If there’s anything you want to do with…anybody, you should be able to do it. I won’t be mad.” Which to Bernie sounds rightly as not so much permission to him, but to herself. It is this series of events which bring him to a room of triple mirrors, literally and metaphorically, where he slips into his tourist gear, metamorphosing instantly into a adventuring persona to become the, “justified voyeur,” emerging finally fully outfitted into the light, where he is greeted by a rather shapely female backside, only to find on alarmingly quick examination, that this particular pleasing attribute belongs to none other than a former “male” student of his in transsexual form.

Thus concludes the chapter one setup. A series of fairly conventional middle age malaise elements with a few surprises, one of them a bonafide shocker, tossed into the mix. So at this point, the tale seems to have played out for us before even gaining speed enough to blast into chapter two. A rush to judgment in this case is of no benefit. With chapter two, the tale takes a hard left, turning from conventional disgruntled academic professional on redemptive vacation quest, to Escape From Terror Island. It is at once clear that the shock potential of this tale has just begun. Perhaps it is an ode to pop culture. Perhaps it is an elegiac riff on the culture of the spectacle. Or better still, perhaps it is merely Shipp’s attempt to show us that whatever our self imposed torments, self flagellations, self directed smackdowns spurred by self perceived failures, there remains one clarifying conclusion to consider: it could be worse. Unwilling anti hero, Bernie Johnson, comes to appreciate this perspective as his vacation from the dark side commences. No tour guides, no on site experts, no ameliorative of any kind. Just a skidding step off a precarious edge which sends him tumbling into an abyss of horrors unimaginable in content or scope.

This tale with adopted tag, Literary/Science Fiction, missed the boat on that count. It may indeed fit the Science Fiction motif in a sense, maybe even if one were to liberally apply it, the Literary tag to a small degree. But the tag decidedly absent which I believe sums up this tale most comprehensively is Bizarro. For one tired of the same ol’ same ol’, the predictable plotlines, the genre distinctions that fall flat, the tired unfunny comedies, the reigning flavor of the week memoir, look no more. With adventures that charge the senses and blast open the cerebral networks with unexpected thrills, Shipp’s tale of Bizarro proportions, Vacations, may be just the ticket to soothe those tired eyes and beleaguered genre sensibilities.
(less)

Like this review? yes (4 people liked it)

1 comment

07/12/08

Jesse Gordon rated it:

Read in October, 2005

The world has, since the inception—intentional or otherwise—of humankind, always been a dubious plane of existence. You'd be hard-pressed to find an author, poet, artist, musician, politician, holy man, or everyman who has never spoken out concerning the human condition, from the tiniest fib to the most horrific act of genocide. Newspaper columnists, Sunday preachers, eastern philosophers all dissect the meaning of life in their various fashions—but Jeremy Shipp's Vacation (see web site), ...more The world has, since the inception—intentional or otherwise—of humankind, always been a dubious plane of existence. You'd be hard-pressed to find an author, poet, artist, musician, politician, holy man, or everyman who has never spoken out concerning the human condition, from the tiniest fib to the most horrific act of genocide. Newspaper columnists, Sunday preachers, eastern philosophers all dissect the meaning of life in their various fashions—but Jeremy Shipp's Vacation (see web site), a first-person tour de force that takes place in an alternate universe and/or future-in-the-making, actually takes the human condition and turns it inside out.

On the surface, Vacation is about a disgruntled English teacher named Bernard Johnson who goes on Vacation (yes, proper capitalization) with an ex-student, once-male, now-female friend and discovers the world is not what he initially thought it to be.

Okay. Simple enough premise—you see it all the time in various forms of literature (well, maybe without the sex change). Peel away that superficial layer, though, and you soon find yourself entangled in a labyrinth of spiritual testing and social commentary unflinchingly portrayed by Shipp's characters. In this world, society exists in two major flavors: the Tics and the Meeks, the former being the well-to-dos of the industrialized nations, the latter being the poor, the exiled. Using this metaphor, it quickly becomes obvious the Tics are our own pop culture, the pill-popping, credit-card-wielding, overfed, and over-stimulated masses who have been shielded from the terrible truths of the world in a sort of global propaganda scheme to bolster big business. The Meeks are, well, everyone else—a grassroots conglomerate of militants who have cleansed their bodies and minds of all social poisons. Somewhere in between is the Garden, an external haven lead by Noh, who seeks to seed truth back into the world, one mind at a time.

Bernard's adventure plays out in the classic escapist fashion—on crack. Indeed, much of his transformation has to do with the altering of his mind, the skewering of his perspective, so that he may glimpse the dream he's been living from the outside. He goes on Vacation, falls in love, becomes a tool for the Meeks, and ultimately helps to realize Noh's vision of social revolution—but don't expect any of this to be A-B-C, for the strength of Shipp's narrative lies in his ability to toss the ball to his characters and trust that their decisions, their reactions will guide the story true. The underlying meaning is present throughout, but it is quite obvious from the start that you, the reader, are just as responsible as Bernard in coming to your own conclusions.

Shipp's style in Vacation demands an agile approach, as various scenes shift seamlessly between dreams and reality—often without warning. I'm reminded of S.P. Somtow's Riverrun Trilogy: one quarter real, three quarters surreal. Considering the concept, I can't imagine it any other way.

Vacation is a potent social theory, a spiritual hopscotch from start to finish. With interesting scenarios and thought-provoking dialog, it is a compelling reason for fans of psychological fantasy to look up Jeremy Shipp.(less)

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

1 comment

03/24/08

Geri Ahearn rated it:

Read in February, 2008

recommends it for: Dark Fiction/Bizzaro Lovers

Jeremy Shipp takes the reader on a psychological head-trip
through the eyes of Bernard Johnson. A thirty-five year old
intelligent man with a wild, incredible imagination. Bernard
is tormented with his dreams, fantasies, and nightmares.
The reader is taken through the door of a magic carpet ride
of adventure, but the ride doesn't end there. The ride
continues from the magic carpet of fantasy, through the
doors of the haunted house of fear. Each reader will be
...more

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

3 comments

01/04/08

Jason Pettus rated it:

Read in January, 2008

(My full review of this book is much longer than GoodReads' word-count limitations. Find the entire essay at the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com].)

I'm sure some of you must think of it as an insult when I occasionally refer to a book here as "weird;" but believe it or not, so-called "weird fiction" or "weird lit" is in fact a legitimate genre, originally coined by the Romantic writers of the 1800s to describe the absolute s...more (My full review of this book is much longer than GoodReads' word-count limitations. Find the entire essay at the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com].)

I'm sure some of you must think of it as an insult when I occasionally refer to a book here as "weird;" but believe it or not, so-called "weird fiction" or "weird lit" is in fact a legitimate genre, originally coined by the Romantic writers of the 1800s to describe the absolute strangest of the moody, atmospheric novels they were all pumping out at the time. Let's not forget, after all, that the term "romantic" has changed quite considerably in our society since those days; although now primarily used to describe a gooey love story, in the Victorian Age it meant any story with a gloomy, dramatic, emotional feel, a direct rebellion by that generation against the rational Enlightenment of their parents' and grandparents' times. A direct line can be drawn, weird-lit fans claim, from such projects on the fringe of Romanticism (including such works as Nathaniel Hawthorne's House of the Seven Gables, which I'll be reviewing here next week) straight to such modern genre masters as Stephen King, Clive Barker, Mark Danielewski and DB Weiss, often through such 20th-century transitionary writers as HP Lovecraft (the first weird author to add a distinctly otherworldly element to the genre) and William Burroughs (the first to add academic respectability).

One such contemporary weird writer, for example, is Californian Jeremy Shipp, a highly respected genre author who has nonetheless spent most of his career so far toiling in the unglamorous world of fanzines and the like; ah, but now Vacation is out, his very first traditional full-length prose novel, which in a perfect world will finally start helping him get the larger respect he deserves. Because frankly, Shipp is about as great a weird author as weird literature gets, even while acknowledging that there are certain weaknesses to the genre in general as well; that anyone who is a fan of strange stories and off-kilter characters is bound to love this novel, and in fact love it more passionately than the current weird authors they only think they love. This isn't going to stop many of you from intensely disliking it, don't get me wrong -- that's the dice roll you always take with genre work, as I'm seemingly always saying here, is that by its very nature you are simply going to have a split audience going right into page one -- but for those who click with stories about the hidden strange details of the cosmos that are very quietly buried among us all the time, you are sure to love this book with the burning intensity that you currently reserve for your Buffy DVDs.

Set in a world very similar to ours but not quite the same, the central premise behind Vacation is a fascinating one that reflects our times...(less)

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

1 comment

12/16/07

Lance rated it:

Read in January, 2008

Jeremy Shipp has a unique and entertaining writing style. The 164 page VACATION demands the reader’s attention and should perhaps not be read just before bedtime or while operating heavy machinery. In fact, a second reading may be required to fully enjoy/appreciate the story. But it is definitely worth the effort. Shipp’s surreal and eery vision of the future (or maybe an alternate universe) seems to drift seamlessly between dream and reality. The tale of the battle between the haves a...more

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

1 comment

01/15/08

Adam rated it:

bookshelves: bizarro-sci-fi, favorites

Read in October, 2008

An incredible first novel from Jeremy Shipp. Aspects are reminiscent of Chuck Palahniuk and Philip K. Dick, but Vacation stands on its own as everything that's right with modern sci fi and bizarro. A quick read, Shipp cuts to the heart of the story and his characters, accomplishing more with choppy sentences and embedded commentary than volumes three times the length. An absolute must read for fans of avant-garde literature.

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

3 comments

11/23/07

Ben rated it:

Read in December, 2007

To be honest I'm not sure I remotely know what this book is about, terrorism, drug-running, secret gardens, and sex changes, for sure, and the education system, probably, totalitarian societies, no doubt, but beyond that, can't say. But who cares, it's really good, and completely absorbing, and so what if Jeremy is obviously a complete wack-job, the dude can flat out write.

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10/26/08

tadpole rated it:

bookshelves: 2008, bizarro-gr

Read in November, 2008

Some of the other reviews that I have read of this book in the past seemed to dote on the complexity of the storyline. This idea coupled with my previous experiences with Shipp's short stories led me to believe that I was embarking on a task of 'Finnegan's Wake'-like proportions when I first began reading. This was a task that I wasn't sure that I was up for at this point in time, and I was pleasantly surprised to find the storyline fairly straight forward. I do not know whether my ease in follo...more Some of the other reviews that I have read of this book in the past seemed to dote on the complexity of the storyline. This idea coupled with my previous experiences with Shipp's short stories led me to believe that I was embarking on a task of 'Finnegan's Wake'-like proportions when I first began reading. This was a task that I wasn't sure that I was up for at this point in time, and I was pleasantly surprised to find the storyline fairly straight forward. I do not know whether my ease in following the story has to do with my penchant for fringe literature.

'Vacation' is a brilliant critique of the foibles of modern society. Why do we all feel so tired and sickly when we live in the most prosperous nation in the world? Why does the evening news air almost exclusively commercials for pills with a myriad of damned scary side effects? Has anyone else wondered about this? These questions are but one of the themes explored in this book. There are also some interesting questions about human gender that I am still rolling around in my head.

I often tend to get hung up on short passages and little tidbits in books that don't always make an impression on others. An example of this is that the vacationers must wear uniforms that consist of corporate logos. Shipp doesn't explicitly state the reasoning behind this, and I found that it was much more fun to theorize about while reading rather than being spoon fed. I also love the fact that a sour nut in a bag of airline peanuts can be used as a subtle foreshadowing of bad things to come.

While 'Vacation' is a completely original animal, I found myself drawing slight similarities to "The Illuminatis Trilogy!" Don't let this thought lead you astray, as 'Vacation' goes in a completely different direction. I'm also impressed that Shipp managed to cover as much ground as RAW did in that book in five hundred less pages.

It's very exciting to read a young author as his career is beginning. Thanks Jeremy! I look forward to reading your future works.

(less)

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

7 comments

07/23/08

Josh Olsen rated it:

Read in February, 2008

This book startled me.

The beginning of the book had me grasping a bit, trying to figure out exactly what was going on. I was confused and almost felt like I was being shoved around a little bit. Then as more and more things began to unfold, the smile got wider and wider.

Then Jack stepped in, and we met Odin and Noh. The confusion was back, yet again I was living beside Bernard, feeling what he felt, because I too was a Tic.

The fifth star in this comes from ...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

1 comment

01/28/08

Peggy rated it:

I'm not sure exactly what I expected when I started Vacation, but suffice to say that it managed to both meet and confound all of those expectations.

For many, a novel of ideas is an excuse to be preachy and a novel that uses surreal images and dream-like prose is all flash and no substance.

Nothing could be further from the truth in Shipp's book.

Oh, there are ideas aplenty here: thought-provoking,history-laden, Big Time ideas about the nature of self and the na...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

1 comment

03/16/09

Sean rated it:

bookshelves: 2009, college, fiction, horror, sci-fi

Read in March, 2009

recommended to Sean by: Jeremy

What if the life you're living right now is a dream? Take it one step further:
What if the life you're living right now is a dream of a dream? Now take it another step further:
What if the life you're living right now is a dream of a dream being controlled by an outsider to mask the truth from you to mask the truth from you?

This is the kind of cerebral head-trip that Jeremy Shipp presents in his novel, Vacation.

Mr. Shipp's voice is clear and immediate, almost mi...more

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12/31/07

Jo rated it:

bookshelves: fiction, horror

Read in January, 2008

recommended to Jo by: Jeremy Shipp

First e-book. The e-book part is fascinating. At first it was a lot of fun, but after about 30 pages, I wanted to hold it. I printed it out! Don't laugh at me. I am just old fashioned.

The story is detailed and believable. That is what makes it scary. You have to care. A lot of info and a lot to track.
Jeremy S. can write!
Recommend to those who like a scare. ...or are going on vacation!!!

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

1 comment

07/15/08

Sandi rated it:

bookshelves: 2008, gr-authors, sci-fi

Read in July, 2008

"Vacation" by Jeremy C. Shipp little book takes a lot of brain power to read. I cannot tell how many times I had to go back a few pages to figure out something I had missed. In many ways, it reminds me of the best of Philip K. Dick. It's thought-provoking, cautionary, ambiguous and downright weird. I like that in a book.

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

1 comment

02/28/08

Natalie marked it as to-read

bookshelves: to-read

I have never heard of this book until this site and from what I have read in the discription it looks extremely interesting. I can't wait to see where this book takes me, if it inspires and gives me a whole new understanding of life itself. If anybody has this book for lending please let me know ASAP:D!

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

1 comment

11/26/07

Adriane rated it:

bookshelves: horror

Read in February, 2008

recommended to Adriane by: Jeremy Shipp
recommends it for: horror fans and those living outside of the box

A twisted-wicked sinfully delicious read. It spirals off the page but not for the timid or those with weak eimaginations. If you want to go on a "Vacation" in the likes that you have never experienced then pick up this book and turn the page and get ready! Excellent~!

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

3 comments

04/15/08

Krystin added it

Read in April, 2008

recommends it for: Anyone and everyone!

This has to be the most unique book I've read in a long time. I thought it would be good, but was pleasantly surprised with how amazing it was! I loved the plot, the characters, everything! I absolutely loved it, it is now one of my favorites!

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

1 comment

03/17/09

Elaine rated it:

bookshelves: 2009, april_09, books_for_review, favorites

Read in April, 2009

Vacation was my first foray into the bizarro fiction genre. I wasn't sure what to expect when starting this book, but soon realized that all expectations simply fly out the window anyway. Bernard Johnson, a 35-year-old English teacher decides (in an early-mid-life-crisis kind of way) to spend the next year of his life "finding himself" during a government sponsored world Vacation. On this Vacation, Bernie meets up with a beautiful woman who used to be one of his male students; is vi...more

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