Your previous memoir chronicled a transformative year of travel. How did writing this book differ emotionally and creatively from your earlier work?

My first book, 12 Trips in 12 Months, was about facing a big milestone birthday and jumping into a career switch. This book picks up 5 years later, grappling with a lot of the same questions of self-worth and discovery through travel, but with the added gravity of health concerns and feeling like I’d been wasting crucial time.

The book begins after a deeply personal breakup. At what point did you realize this painful chapter could become a story of healing instead of heartbreak?

I knew almost right away that I was living my next story. Besides it being so ludicrous (at one point I was dancing in a drum circle next to a guy in a banana suit with a dog balancing on his shoulders), I was going to some pretty epic places and indulging my inner child. This are universal balms that can soothe whatever ails us at the moment, and I wanted to share that experience with others looking for their next move.

Solo travel often looks glamorous on social media, but your memoir also explores vulnerability. Why was it important for you to show both the joyful and challenging sides of traveling alone?

I love solo travel, it’s fantastic! You go where you want, when you want, and see what you want. But just because something is good overall doesn’t mean it’s all good, all the time. The tendency to gloss over hardships makes people feel more isolated than seen. It makes us want to put forth a perfect image on social media, and that’s not relatable. People resonate with honest content because they want to know it’s OK to be human.

You've visited some incredible destinations throughout the book. Which place surprised you the most, and why did it leave such a lasting impression?

I loved my trip to Rapa Nui, aka Easter Island. It’s one of the most remote places I’ve ever visited and I enjoyed learning about the Moai, giant statues I’d only seen in magazines before. I felt relaxed during my time there, and my faith in people was renewed when they let me leave without paying for the hotel when the WiFi went down, trusting I’d send the money via Western Union when I got home. I appreciated the reminder that not everyone is moving a million miles a minute or on a screen for hours a day, and that life can feel better that way.

One of the fascinating moments in the book involves making a wish on an Egyptian statue. Looking back now, do you believe that moment truly shifted your mindset, or was it the beginning of something you were already ready to embrace?

As a child of the 90’s, I’m a strict rule follower when it comes to wishes. You can’t wish for more wishes. You have to focus on your one wish. You can’t wish for someone to love you. When it came to the wish I was going to make, I felt I had no choice. As much as I didn’t like the breakup, I couldn’t magically wish my way out of it. My ex had to want me of his own volition, without the intervention of a centuries-old scarab statue. And if that never came to pass, well then at least the scarab could help me minimize the damage from that day.

You've built a career inspiring others to travel. Has writing this memoir changed the advice you now give aspiring solo travelers?

I still say book the flight and figure out the rest later, maybe even more so now given the title of the book, All You Need is Flights! Sometimes the best thing you can do is give yourself space, perspective, and a break from overanalyzing. Travel helps you just be, and I don’t think we do that enough, especially women.

If you could revisit one moment from this journey with the wisdom you have today, would you change anything—or was every detour necessary?

I would have released any hope of reconciling with my ex sooner. I knew it was over instinctively, but grief is weird and sometimes you have to go through the stages in a haphazard order until you come out of the other side and go, “what was I thinking?”

What's one place you're still dreaming of visiting?

So many! I’d love to go to Vietnam and have a custom wardrobe made. I want to walk on clouds at the Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia during the rainy season, the world’s largest mirror. I want to do a cruise to Alaska and to see the Fjords of Norway. I don’t think I’ll ever be tired of seeing the world! Traveling there is another story…

For readers who want to travel alone but are hesitant, what's the biggest misconception about solo travel that you'd like to dispel?

A lot of people think solo travel is dangerous but the truth is, especially as women, we have heightened awareness, precautions we take, and street smarts that we exercise every day. If you can navigate through life solo generally, you’re already well equipped to take a solo trip. When you’re nervous before a big trip, a little research and connecting with a local female on the ground through Facebook groups or dedicated travel communities can go a long way towards putting you at ease.

After closing the final chapter of All You Need Is Flights, what do you hope readers remember long after they've unpacked the book?

I hope readers remember that the book title is a play on All You Need is Love, because while you can’t control what others feel towards you, you can always book a flight and choose yourself.

Get a copy of her latest book, All You Need is Flights on Amazon, Audible or Bookshop.org.

JEN RUIZ, the author of 12 Trips in 12 Months, is a lawyer turned full-time travel writer and entrepreneur. She is a seven-time national award-winning travel journalist, three-time TEDx speaker, and has been featured by The Washington Post, New York Post, Forbes, and the Daily Mail. A travel guidebook writer for Fodor’s Travel and Lonely Planet, Jen is the solo female traveler behind Jen on a Jet Plane and has been to 50+ countries.