Imagine yourself in a schoolroom in one of the most remote regions of one of the most hard-to-reach countries on earth. Nepal. The Lower Mustang region to be exact. To reach it takes a 14-hour flight from New York to Doha, Qatar. Then four hours by air to Kathmandu. Transfer at one of the world's most dangerous airports to a 90-minute flight to Pokhara, followed by a jarring, eight-hour Jeep ride over a vertiginous dirt road - one side is a mountain wall, the other side a two-hundred foot cliff. Finally you arrive, but it's not just any schoolroom. It has been converted into an operating room so that doctors from New York Eye & Ear Infirmary can provide the gift of sight to 24 Nepalis who were blind due to advanced cataracts. Jeff Blumenfeld witnessed this first hand. He was there as a traveler, but also as a volunteer. A voluntourist. People often wonder how they can explore the world and help the less fortunate even if they don't possess specialized skills. These are people who make lousy vacationers. They're bored sitting on a beach or touring umpteen churches on a cruise ship excursion. They want a meaningful role when they travel. That's where voluntourism comes in - a mix of both travel and volunteering. Is it hard work building wells and schoolhouses or excavating dinosaur bones? Yes, it is. But voluntourism doesn't take a particular outdoor skill, just plenty of sweat and the desire to see the world and leave it a better place. Travel With Purpose deals not with celebrities, nor the rich and famous. Instead, it relays examples from Blumenfeld's travels and many others from Las Vegas to Nepal. From health care facilities to impoverished schools. These are stories of inspiration from everyday people, all of whom have definite opinions about the best way to approach that first volunteer vacation. You don't need to be wealthy to travel to foreign lands to volunteer; you may not even have to go to foreign lands, as opportunities may exist within your own state. Blumenfeld shows readers how to identify the right location and volunteer situation, how to go about planning trips and preparing for activities, how to reach out, how to help. Through vivid examples and first hand stories from both recipients of volunteer work and the volunteers themselves, Travel with Purpose may make you rethink your next vacation.

'If Emma Murray writes it, I want to read it. Hilarious!' Cathy KellyBrand new from the bestselling author of Time Out and The Juggle. When her husband David announces he's been offered a job in New York, Saoirse is thrilled. The glamour of the big city, the shopping, the culture, not to mention the free Manhattan apartment and business class air fare - what's not to like? There's just the small matter of making it work for their daughter, five-year-old Anna, who isn't so keen to leave her friends and school behind. The Big Apple in the middle of summer isn't quite the holiday Saoirse envisaged, and with David away with work, New York apartment sizes on the miniscule side, and the pace of life faster than the sleepy London suburbs, solo ex-pat parenting pushes Saoirse to her limits. And as the pressure builds and 'faking it till she makes it' isn't cutting it, there's only one thing for it - Saoirse and Anna need a new plan, and 'Winging It' might be their best option... Emma Murray returns with this laugh-out-loud funny, compulsively page-turning adventure about parenting, travelling, and finding your tribe - on both sides of the pond. Praise for Emma Murray: 'With wit, brio and fabulous humour, Emma Murray again delivers a page-turner about travel, parenthood, trying to fit in and finding your own tribe. If Emma Murray writes it, I want to read it. Hilarious.' Cathy Kelly 'A fabulous series full of laughter, witty observations' Jessica Redland 'Emma Murray's writing is so deft: rib ticklingly funny and also heartbreakingly poignant at times that the reader is swept along with Saoirse and her cast of supporting characters as they navigate their increasingly hectic lives.' Fay Keenan 'Emma tells it how it is with real honesty, and it made me laugh out loud.' Janet Hoggarth 'Witty, fun, beautifully-written. Very highly recommended. Excited to see what comes next from Emma Murray.' Jessica Redland Readers loved Emma's first book Time Out: 'Compelling, Uplifting and so very relatable. The characters are superbly written, and I really hope we get to read more from Saoirse.' 'I really related to the Saoirse, the main character in this book. I loved her humour, her insecurities, her strengths, her flaws and of course most importantly how she formed a fantastic friendship over a morning bottle of Prosecco.' 'Emma Murray has written a 5-star 'how-to' book on being part of the village ... 'it takes a village to raise a child' but it also takes that village to raise up a mom!' 'A fabulous read that had me hooked and also made me feel glad that my children were born prior to the arrival of Facebook and social media. But a refreshing read and one I would definitely recommend.'