Altitude Adjustment

If you have ever dreamed of leaving city life behind or fantasized about living in some beautiful place where you vacation, this book is for you. The author had those daydreams for years, until she learned the hard way that the grass is not always greener in a resort town. Before you quit your job and put your house on the market, read Altitude Adjustment, a cautionary tale about living out your fantasies. After moving from Washington, DC, in a post-9/11 panic, the author and her husband escape the big city and set out to live a bucolic existence in Truckee, a small mountain town in California. In Altitude Adjustment, the author writes a collection of humorous anecdotes that detail her reflections on life in this quirky ski town. After a series of athletic and social failures, the author discovers that living in a beautiful vacation spot is not the paradise she thought it would be. From worrying she will turn into a cannibal during a blizzard, to hiding from the ski patrol in the bushes, the author tries to maintain her sense of humor throughout her humiliating adventures. She exposes her hopes, fears, and insecurities (OK, mainly the last two) while also shedding light on the peculiar and alien habits of the locals. While the overall tone of the essays is humorous, they all contain substantive reflections on the universal themes of loneliness, alienation, and social anxiety. There’s something in this book for everyone! As an urban thirty-something fleeing the rat race for a slower-paced way of life, the author ultimately learns she is more comfortable living in an asphalt jungle than in the snow-capped wilderness.