Getting Lost On My Way

Getting Lost On My Way takes us on Diane Hartman’s journey to Ireland to find herself after the end of her twenty-two-year-long marriage. It is, in her own words, “the story of a middle-aged woman who set out on four solo journeys to Ireland, a country I had yearned to visit for several years, to conquer fears, take risks, and tame the Black Dog of depression.”

Hartman winds through the back roads of Ireland, tours sacred sites, visits with writers, and follows one of her favorite folk-rock bands, the Saw Doctors, reflecting her love of Celtic literature, music, and spirituality. She goes to poetry readings and concerts, visits the Cliffs of Mohr, and participates in a writer’s retreat. Covering four separate trips, short chapters describe Hartman’s many experiences meeting local Irish folks as well as her visits with people who become her friends. Hartman recounts friendly encounters with farmers, dogs, and goats, and a bizarre afternoon with a nun. The book is filled with conversations with B & B hosts, writers, and musicians as Hartman gains new insights about Ireland and its people with each successive trip.

Hartman reveals that she struggles with depression and describes herself as an introvert, but seems to transform as she ventures out to explore the Emerald Isle. Though understandably nervous at first about traveling alone, she manages driving narrow roads and easily chats with locas she meets along the way. While there are many colorful descriptions of the beautiful landscape, a map would have helped me visualize the places Hartman traveled to and added a stronger send of place.

Getting Lost On My Way is a memoir about a woman finding out who she is away from her usual life and her connection to a place that holds special meaning for her. By the end of her last journey, Hartman has navigated some important turning points and set an example to other women longing to set out on their own journey of self-discovery.