Let go of your address, cell phone and other possessions. Leave the safety and comfort of your home. Go traveling for a very long time, without any plan whatsoever. Disregard the ordinary tourist attractions and instead take the paths less trodden. How does that sound to you? Intimidating, stupid, challenging, interesting? That's exactly what full-time travelers Santeri and Päivi Kannisto have done for the past eight years. In their latest book Free as a Global Nomad: An Old Tradition with a Modern Twist the nomadic couple examines the phenomenon of long-term traveling against the backdrop of historical evidence and sheds light on the workings of the nomadic mind.

Nomads are freaks in the fringes of society, occasionally adored yet often despised. "Why do you travel?" people ask them. "Why do you stay?" they respond, pack their bag and move on. There is no uniform "global nomadism". The nomads are as diverse bunch as any other group of people. The common denominator is, however, that they are okay with being lost in new environments - home away from home. They know that accepting uncertainty and welcoming reality as it is breeds unexpected new experiences and opportunities for growth.

The wonderful life philosophies of the nomads aside, the book also reveals their insecurities and fears. Challenges of making a living, dealing with loneliness, fears of social exclusion, feelings of rootlessness, cultural fatique, absence from friends and family, and stress regarding returning home are all dealt in a rapid-fire of first-hand accounts from the road.

It would be an understatement to call this book provocative. No. Rather, the Kannistos spit ordinary life straight in the face by boldly challenging what is accepted, encouraged and celebrated in our now globally uniform society. The writing style is by no means dry and objective. It is wildly, and quite convincingly, anarchistic. The book is against borders, governments and capitalism - often rightfully so. Santeri and Päivi shamelessly attack the system yet they refuse to raise themselves above the people who struggle in the rat race. They shake off the romanticism often associated with vagabonds and paint a no-frills picture of nomadic living. There is no idolizing of anyone or anything: Rainbow hippies, career whores and the nomadic drfiters themselves get treated with the same brutal Finnish honesty.

In case you are happy struggling with your mortgage, you probably shouldn't read this book. Everyone else, be prepared for a thrilling ride: regardless of a few awkward Finnishisms the the non-natives' language is fluent, vivid and captivating. The book reads like a well-written detective story and it's hard to put it down. Kannistos' personal stories mix into seamless dialogue with (somewhat limited) historical evidence and other nomads' plentiful wisdom that teems with enthralling advice such as this: "Smile a lot, talk to strangers, accept all invitations, and eat everything you are offered (p. 94)."

If you approach the book with curious humility you might learn how to question, how to have the courage to make your own choices, how to leave the dullness of ordinary nine-to-five routine, how to lead a more care-free life, how to enjoy the present moment, how to overcome your fears and how to shed those goddamn' excuses that block you from going after your dreams. The worst part? This book is merely scratching the surface of these nomads' inspiring life stories. It leaves you hungry for more. And that, you potential nomad, might just be on purpose.

(Tomi Astikainen is a global nomad himself, having hitchhiked more than 200,000 km during the past three years of moneyless living. He shares his work free of charge in the internet.) ( )