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The Purpose of Getting Lost: A Story of Finding Myself
Paperback
Publisher Price: $16.79
Publisher: Compass Story Press
Published: Jan 22 2026
Pages: 264
Weight: 0.68
Height: 0.55 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
The Purpose of Getting Lost isn't a story about travel-and it isn't a story with a neat ending. There is no final version of the woman at the center of this book, no moment where everything clicks and stays that way.
As Tracy Smith approached fifty and her children grew up, she realized she'd spent years taking care of everyone. Everyone but herself. So she booked a trip. Then another. And another. Over time, thirty countries and five continents became less about distance traveled and more about what surfaced along the way.
In airports, alleys, homestays, temples, and the moments in between, Tracy began to see herself more clearly-her patterns, her longings, her restlessness. Some insights stayed. Others didn't. The journeys offered perspective, not answers; movement, not resolution.
Told with humor, honesty, and attention to the moments that rarely make it into transformation stories, The Purpose of Getting Lost is a candid collection of interconnected stories about midlife, independence, and the search for belonging-not the kind you arrive at once and for all, but the kind you practice, again and again, as your life continues to unfold.
A Note from the Author: Thank you for choosing this book. Claim your free collectible sticker at tracysmithauthor.com by entering your IngramSpark order number.
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