Sand in My Bra and Other Misadventures: Funny Women Write from the Road

Funny Women Write from the Road

by Jennifer L. Leo (Editor), Jessica Maxwell (Contributor)

Travel isn’t always what we dream it will be, but...oh the stories that follow! For the 25 women in this book who packed their sense of humor as they traveled from Alaska to Zanzibar, the journey brought tales of misadventure that their children and grandchildren, and readers of this book, will never forget. Smile, chuckle, and laugh out loud to the candid and comical accounts of these memorable trips.
Brigid Kelso gets bitten and beaten by a healer possessed by a goddess in Kathmandu in "Llamo Dolkar"
"Fifteen Minutes Can Last Forever" when JoAnn Hornak is being chased by a herd of fifty African elephants
Ellen Degeneres’s fear of flying comes out in ripe language shocking the nun in the next seat in "The Plane Truth"
"Herbal Girl" Deborah Bear tests the strength of ginger when sea sickness overcomes her on a not-so-idyllic voyage
Sandra Tsing Loh vacations in "Tahiti!" where she finds the freedom to be fat
"A Prude in Patpong," Jennifer Leo discovers the outrageous world of Bangkok’s sex shows
Cooking up a "Rainbow Special" in Guatemala, Cara Tabachnick inadvertantly poisons her new friends with explosive and hilarious results

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Humor, Essays, Memoir, Short Stories, Adventure

232 pages, Paperback

First published March 26, 2003

About the author

Jennifer L. Leo is a writer, editor, and fearless adventurer with a flair for humor and misadventure. She edits the best-selling Travelers' Tales women’s humor series and writes for books, magazines, and websites. Her blog, WrittenRoad.com, was named one of Writers Digest’s 101 Best Websites for Writers. Based in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, she covers the poker world as author of Night + Day Las Vegas, columnist for BLUFF and Women Poker Player, and creator of VivaLasVegasBlog.com, blending travel, humor, and gambling in her dynamic lifestyle.

Reviews

[Book Concierge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Subtitle: Funny Women Write From the Road

This is a collection of essays written by women about their travels. Most feature foreign or adventure travel: Africa, Europe, Mexico. A few are very adventurous: safaris, river-rafting, Burning Man. Some are more generic: packing, fear of flying. Many featured encounters with local fauna: elephants, dolphins, lions. Some are hilarious, especially those that include missteps in translation; a woman who thought she was commenting on a menu item but instead was using a colloquial expression for a penis (to the understandable consternation of her male waiter) had me guffawing out loud.

On the whole, an entertaining diversion while I was on a plane traveling to my own vacation in a national park.

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book lured me in with its promising title. Then I saw the pink cover, which just irritated me. (All books for women must include an underwear reference and be pink right?? How else would we know they were women-appropriate?) And then I started reading the stories. This is a book that is trying too hard. And the stories are far too short. Two or three pages really just aren't enough. And then the Anne Lamott story, which I had been looking forward to, turned out to be a reprint. A beloved story of mine ("The Aunties") but a reprint all the same. On a hunch I went back and looked for the other travel book that seemed it was trying too hard and had stories that were too short, Not So Funny When It Happened: The Best of Travel Humor and Misadventure. Sure enough: they're from the same series. One that I will try (harder) to avoid in the future.

OK, that was a little harsh. It wasn't awful. Some of the stories were cute. They were just way too short (for the most part) and most of them were trying way too hard to be cute, likable, quirky, and hip, and that doesn't go off any better in a book than it does at a cocktail party.

[Jeannie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book just okay, nothing to brag about. Out of all the stories I only chuckled on three of them and that's not many when there's 28 total. Most of them where way too short or just didn't make much sense to me. I didn't feel I traveled anywhere reading them and that's the whole reason I read travel books. Not at all what I expected from this book.

[Jimmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book contains a collection of short stories from women travel writers discussing their travels in the U.S. and around the world. Definitely not your most serious collection of memoirs, and many of the stories delved in to most embarrassing moments and specifically female issues while traveling (this isn't the best book to recommend to your male friends, ladies), it also dealt with traveling alone, miscommunication in another language, making friends, experiencing new cultures, and why we travel.

One of my favorites was the opening story "Mom's Travel Advisories," which probably all of us that have people back home worrying about us can identify with. No matter how prepared we might be, certain family members are always going to worry about all the "what ifs" and maybe take that worry to the next level. For example, Karla Zimmerman writes, "What if you get killed while you're away? Your dad and I want to see you before that happens." As you try to reassure her that you have brought a first aid kit including medication and have gotten the recommended immunizations, she counters, "I'm talking about the hard stuff - to ease the pain when you get shot by Peruvian guerrilas or lose a limb to a Columbian landmine." And after these intense discussions at home, you have them with yourself, since you didn't disclose that you would be in a country during Terrorist Week, but "the voice in your head shouts 'Wear dark colors, so you won't stand out to kidnappers who will remove your appendix using an unsterilized hacksaw. Organ trafficking is big in Chile." And you know that, at the very least someone will be "available to receive my remains, should there be any."

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the description of the book I thought I was going to like it a lot better than I did. This book just did not deliver enough interesting stories to give it a higher rating than a 2. The book was very uneven in quality. Some of the stories were interesting and well written while others were just ho hum. The piece on Burning Man was interesting as I was curious about the event. The idea for this book was great, I just wish the stories were more interesting and the writing more compelling.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is as anthology of women's true stories. Writers include Ellen DeGeneres and Annie Lamott. I enjoyed it and I believe there is a couple other books in the same genre. Books Off My Reading List

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like travel novels but until now have only read them by men. Not anything intentional on my part but I am a little sad to say that I'm a bit disappointed with this first travel book by a woman that I've read. Or I should say women, it's a collection of short stories by several different women.

These short stories range all over the place. Most take place out of the United States in places such as France or Australia in the outback. But there are a few in the US like a Burning Man event out in the desert or some mentions of Montana. And since this book seems to think its about misadventures, the stories usually attempt to be humorous in their tellings and more about little embarrassing stories than travel narratives. There's the lady who is obsessed with poo, another who bartends in Australia, another who details the joy of airline travel and many others.

Each of the stories pretty much has a different writer but I found that their writing styles were all very similar. I don't think its a result of editing but rather that they are all the same type of writer. They try to be humourous and I did enjoy some of the stories they chose to tell better than some of the others, but if asked to pinpoint which author I'm not sure I could tell you which one stood out for me. None of the writing was outstanding though.

I do have to say that this book didn't really satisfy the travel aspect for me. For example, telling a tale about your underwear falling down your legs is not travel writing, even if the event did take place in a foreign country. While I understand that this was supposed to be a book about misadventures, most of these stories were things that could happen in your hometown and still not be very interesting. I really don't care about some guy's junk you saw on a beach and how that 30 second glimpse is the main focus of your short story. There were barely any stories that fascinated me and I really was looking forward to hearing some travel stories from women. But alas they were more concerned about their cellulite and makeup than in having an adventure.

Kind of a sad little book despite its attempts to be funny. At least it was a quick read.

Sand in My Bra
Copyright 2003
194 pages

Review by M. Reynard 2011

More of my reviews can be found at ifithaswords.blogspot.com

[Beth]

This book has me laughing out loud every time I pick it up. I took it to the beach and I was sitting outside my motel room with my coffee one morning, reading it and laughing so hard that the cleaning lady said, "It's so nice to see someone reading and laughing!" I read a whole chapter out loud to my girlfriend Rita. She was cracking up too. Anyone who needs a good laugh, get your hands on this book!

[Wendy Welch · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book says it's about traveling women. But it's not: it's about whatever the writers wanted to write about while they were traveling. Some of them are hysterically funny and some of them are not. I finally put this in the bathroom and read them.... then.

Eh.

[Mark Darrah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a member of the target readership of this book, but this book made me laugh.

The quality of the short essays varied, but overall the collection provided insights I wouldn't have any other way than by joining these women on their travels.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the selections were funny. But if I liked them, I thought they were too short, and if I didn't like them, they were wordy.

[Joni Graybill · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Today, I saw my reflection across the wide river channel and across a broad cultural gap and my crazy hair no longer mattered. As the sampan lady passed, we lifted our hats off to each other, tipping them to our differences and our similarities and smiled."

This was absolutely the perfect book to read while floating around in the pool on the 4th of July. I'm generally really fussy about my books. I want them to be as pristine when re-shelved after reading as they were when they were purchased new. I don't like broken spines or dog-eared pages. Water damage is unthinkable. So, obviously, I do not take actual books anywhere near the beach or the pool. However, to be so prissy about this book seemed like a disservice to the book itself. The spirit of THIS book obviously WANTS to be wet, sandy and dog-eared and so I had to oblige.

I pride myself on being known as a traveler, but the adventures of these women are on another level entirely. They do and experience all the things that my desire to be clean and hygienic at the end of the day will always prevent me from doing and that's okay because books like this allow me to live vicariously, hilariously through others. But, it sure was a lot of fun reading about their misadventures. This book is laugh out loud funny, frank and refreshingly honest about what a damn pain in the ass, often literally, that bodily functions can be on vacation. In their travel trials and tribulations, I found new ways of looking at my own experiences abroad that have gone hopelessly pear shaped.

I also learned that I was woefully uneducated about what Burning Man actually is. For some reason I had it in my head that it was a music festival. It is decidedly not a music festival. It's more like a benevolent version of Mad Max: Fury Road as far as I can tell. But for my previously mentioned intolerance for staying dirty overnight, I think I might be tempted to check it out because the pictures on Google look surreal and amazing.

[Arizonagirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book at my local library book sale. I was intrigued by the title and the cover of a woman riding an anglerfish vehicle in the desert like a bronco rider. I love reading about travel adventures especially now when such travel is really unpractical due to COVID, but I was disappointed with many of the stories in the book. Is traveling as a woman simply about being embarrassed about the size of our thighs on the beach, feeling uncomfortable in our clothes and bodies, and having periods? Seriously? Tell me what the sunset looks like over the ocean, tell me what the sand feels like in your toes, tell me about how the food tastes in France or what the buildings look like in Italy.

But the book is not a total lost cause. I enjoyed the story about the Mexican Don Juan who, when put to the test, was all words and no action. I enjoyed the story from which the photo cover comes about Burning Man, an event I'd like to experience but don't know if I ever will. I enjoyed the story about the red light district of Bangkok, an experience I'm likely to never have. I laughed out loud at the idea of a two-year-old using his distracted mother's dress as toilet paper. I also enjoyed the stories of being charged by a herd of elephants on an African safari, a river trip with annoying companions and a lost ham, and a woo-woo women's river trip down the Colorado River. So, take the book with a grain of salt...or sand. I think I'll stick to more serious travel anthologies like A Woman's World: True Stories of Life on the Road. This is my December book of my goal to read one book I own each month. I will be passing this one on.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

A friend gave me a copy of this book with the title story earmarked. Curious, I started reading. The “Sand in My Bra” chapter is set in Black Rock City - Aha, there’s the connection! The author went to Burning Man and so did I. Our experiences were very different, however. She came across as a tourist rather than a full participant, and she gave short shrift to the 10 guiding principles of Burning Man’s inclusive alternative society. I was unimpressed by her tale.

I enjoyed some of the other stories, but many seemed frivolous and/or predictable women’s fare - feeling body-conscious, enduring a period mishap, etc. Some stories did not age well, having been rendered moot by advances in technology. Overall, the collection elicited more eye rolls and groans than laughs from this reader.

[Unbridled Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of travel stories written by women from a variety of backgrounds. Everything is first person, so basically accounts of stories that actually happened. As a lover of traveling I found many of these stories interesting because they reveal commonalities most women can relate to. The writers don’t necessarily make the location the star of the story as typical travel writing may, but rather focus on things like bad hair days, monthly cycles, or as the title suggests, sand in your bra. Situations that happen at home, but are much funnier and complicated away, especially when you add a language barrier. Most of the stories were entertaining, and I’d classify this as an easy summer read.

[Sally Kilpatrick]

There are a few really good essays in here, but most were kinda meh for me. LOTS of bathroom humor for those who don't like that. (I usually don't care, but even I don't want to read about [redacted because you don't want to read about it either--you can ask me sometime])

Maybe I'm just not into travel narratives because I'd rather go myself? Or, and this is more likely, a good chunk of these stories dealt with being embarrassed and reading about the embarrassment of other people is so painful for me. As always, YMMV.

[Meghan Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this, but really didn't. It does say 'Funny Women Write from the Road', not that the stories themselves are funny, although that was what I'd been hoping for. I grabbed 3 of the series used all at once, so I'll probably read the next one. I'll go into that thinking they'll be travel stories, and some might be funny - maybe that expectation will help me enjoy it more. If you're reading this pre-reading the book, just keep that expectation. This is not a laugh-a-minute.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book more. The stories are very short, sometimes just excerpts from a larger story. There are some fun bits, but I am always disappointed when a travel themed book doesn't inspire me to want to go anywhere.

[Diane Eskridge]

The book was fine but just not quite funny enough and engaging enough to keep me going. I have too many books that I really want to read. This would be great for some light reading if that is what you are looking for.

[Jenny Reeder · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only found a few of the stories funny and intriguing, pretty disappointing when the cover boasts "a sandstorm of laughs!" Also includes multiple excerpts from random books that seem incomplete and out of place with the book that's supposed to be filled with short stories.

[Ellen the Herbivore · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was awful. Most of the stories dealt with excretions (eg, suddenly getting one’s period while in an Italian couture shop). These women went to so many interesting places but didn’t often engage with anyone because they were too busy thinking about their frizzy hair or big butts. Really sad.

[Janina K Bratina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Travel adventure essays written by 29 women writers. Some humorous, some boring, some thought-provoking, some almost unbelievable. Each essay was unique and probably all were a touch exaggerated for literary purposes. Don't worry if you don't read it.

[Leah Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprising good book. Despite its title it isn’t about wild beach time. The title essay is actually about one woman’s experience at Burning Man in the Nevada desert. Some stories are laugh out loud. Others are more introspective. Tales from around the world.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

To come

[Koula · Rating 3 out of 5]

a lot of fun

[Mollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of travel stories. Some of them are funnier than others.

[Dani Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, fearless women!

[McKenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanna plan a trip so bad now!! This book is funny and relatable if you love to travel

[Maryjane Coons · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok.

[Sidney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book to remind me of why I love traveling and women are awesome. Had me giggling at parts