2. The Larger Story

Can travel help Sara “discover” herself or will she find it’s all about something bigger?

Award-winning travel writer Sara Wheeler has spent a lifetime journeying pole to pole, visiting far-flung places and immersing herself in different cultures — sharing her adventures, and the occasional funny encounter, along the way.

But as she gets older and travel is no longer the novelty it once was, she asks herself a question-could it be time to unpack her bags and stay put?

There are a lot of things to consider. In a time when the personal choice to hop on a plane is considered to be harmful to the environment, when many parts of the world have already been picked over and explored, and as the trials of lugging luggage and navigating congested airports loom large, could staying home actually outweigh the desire to see new places?

Taking inspiration from other writers, explorers and travellers throughout history, Sara starts a conversation with herself- should she stay or should she go?

In this second episode, Sara looks at the travellers and writers seeking escape, self-understanding or enlightenment through travel, including one extraordinary 20th century female explorer and the Wizard of Oz writer L. Frank Baum. Sara eschews the idea of losing or finding herself in favour of another, larger meaning that goes beyond the personal.

Written and narrated by Sara Wheeler
Producer, Lisa Lipman
Editor, Kirsten Lass
Sound editor,Maia Miller-Lewis
Sound engineer and mix, Jon Calver
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4