Cover Art by Ute Hagen
I Could Live Here will resonate with anyone grappling with an unconventional life.
In February 2011, Ellen Barone and her husband, Hank, embarked on a nomadic adventure, searching for a life they couldn’t yet articulate. What followed was an uncertain journey to an unknown future and a life very different from the one they’d been living.
It started with a decision to wander—first for a year, then another, until somehow a decade of itinerant rootlessness had come to feel like a fortunate life.
As they confronted the question of settling down, the thing that compelled them to stay and to leave, again and again— the paradox discovered at the heart of nomadic life— was a sense of deep connection.
After countless uncertainties and temporary homes across the Americas and Europe from Mexico and Nicaragua to Colombia, Peru, and Portugal, the Barones returned to the U.S. in December 2019 for what they assumed would be a short visit—full of new plans, new hopes, new places to go.
Then—screech—the coronavirus changed everything. Once again, they stepped out of one way of life and into another.
I Could Live Here is an open-hearted chronicle of change and adaptation and a compelling, tender, and honest exploration of what it means to be simultaneously at home in oneself and the world.
“This captivating book goes beyond a travel memoir, skillfully describing Ellen and Hank’s journeys in a way that ignites the desire to explore. It delves into themes of love, connection, and loss, portraying the challenges and joys of a peripatetic lifestyle. The narrative inspires readers to embrace change, take risks, and savor life’s fleeting moments. An encouraging read that motivated me to stop procrastinating and seize new experiences without hesitation ”