Starts with a heart attack in a bed, ends with an enlightenment experience under a tree in the forest.
The Improbable Nomad Series follows aging wanderer John McManamy as he tests his patched‑up heart—and occasionally his sanity—on the open road. From a post‑surgery, last‑chance loop around America in a battered Passat to life in an unreliable van, the series chronicles how a man “ready to die” forgets to, and instead stumbles into an unlikely second act as a roaming elder, late-life nature mystic, and accidental Buddhist.
Equal parts road trip, spiritual quest, and comedy of errors, these books feature nature encounters, didgeridoo and banjo meditations, nomad gatherings, people connections, a Buddhist nomad caravan, forest epiphanies, and unexpected animal guides (including a mouse and a friendly skunk).
For readers who like their travel stories laced with Zen philosophy, neuroscience, and gallows humor, The Improbable Nomad Series offers a candid, funny, and deeply human look at what it means to “do it afraid” and keep going, long past the seeming end of the road.
Both books in the series are complete, and can be read in any order. In each book, the author experiences a series of profound personal transformations. My Rather Improbable 2017 reads more like a classic road book as the author covers 30 states in eleven months, experiencing a wide range of adventures and misadventures. Gradually he evolves into a nature mystic and wise elder, more at ease in his own skin. It's all about healing. My Rather Improbable 2024, by contrast, leans into awakening. The author stays closer to "home," in the Arizona deserts and forests as he joins a Buddhist Nomad caravan.
Together, the two memoirs tell a much larger story. Just start anywhere. Enjoy ...
My Rather Improbable 2024
My Rather Improbable 2017
The Improbable Nomad Series follows aging wanderer John McManamy as he tests his patched‑up heart—and occasionally his sanity—on the open road. From a post‑surgery, last‑chance loop around America in a battered Passat to life in an unreliable van, the series chronicles how a man “ready to die” forgets to, and instead stumbles into an unlikely second act as a roaming elder, late-life nature mystic, and accidental Buddhist.
Equal parts road trip, spiritual quest, and comedy of errors, these books feature nature encounters, didgeridoo and banjo meditations, nomad gatherings, people connections, a Buddhist nomad caravan, forest epiphanies, and unexpected animal guides (including a mouse and a friendly skunk).
For readers who like their travel stories laced with Zen philosophy, neuroscience, and gallows humor, The Improbable Nomad Series offers a candid, funny, and deeply human look at what it means to “do it afraid” and keep going, long past the seeming end of the road.
Both books in the series are complete, and can be read in any order. In each book, the author experiences a series of profound personal transformations. My Rather Improbable 2017 reads more like a classic road book as the author covers 30 states in eleven months, experiencing a wide range of adventures and misadventures. Gradually he evolves into a nature mystic and wise elder, more at ease in his own skin. It's all about healing. My Rather Improbable 2024, by contrast, leans into awakening. The author stays closer to "home," in the Arizona deserts and forests as he joins a Buddhist Nomad caravan.
Together, the two memoirs tell a much larger story. Just start anywhere. Enjoy ...
My Rather Improbable 2024
My Rather Improbable 2017
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