Travel to Tanzania With “Our House in Arusha,” a Memoir by Sara Tucker

by | Sep 1, 2021

ELEPHANTS in park in africa
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Last updated on March 8th, 2023

Explore Africa through Sara Tucker’s eyes

by Carolyn Ray, JourneyWoman Publisher 

As part of our Once-in-a-Lifetime travel experiences series, we’re exploring Africa with Sara Tucker’s memoir “Our House in Arusha”, published in 2011.  All of our books are recommended by women, and this. one was recommended by Patricia, who read it before her trips to Tanzania and Zanzibar and even included animal icons  🐘🦓🦏🦒🐊🐆 in her email! 

“On a soft night in Africa when the moon was full, I heard a story that would change my life. In the weeks that followed, like someone pulled by an ancient spell, I said good-bye to my employer and all my friends, ended my eighteen-year marriage, closed the door of my Manhattan apartment, and moved to Tanzania.” – Sara Tucker, Prologue

From Manhattan to Tanzania 

When an American traveler on her way to Kansas ends up in the Serengeti, her life gets a complete makeover. Within months, she is the wife of a French safari guide and the stepmother of an 11-year-old. The year that follows is a test of courage and resilience as each member of the family struggles to make a place for himself in a tantalizing and dangerous world. Part love story, part adventure saga, Our House in Arusha explores resilience and the meaning of second chances.

About the Author 

Sara Tucker has been published in Conde Nast Traveller, the Albequerque Journal and her hometown newspaper. When she “was the copy chief at Cosmo, under Helen Gurley Brown, editors still used White-Out. I had never heard of the Internet. Today I publish my own work and help other writers do the same.”

She works with her partner and husband,  Patrick Texier, a retired safari guide teaching writing workshops in Randolph, Vermont, and Fontainebleau, France.  

Join us on September 15 for a book club discussion 

Your book club co-hosts, Wendy and Carolyn, invite you to join us at our monthly book club on September 15  at 8 pm EDT, for a facilitated discussion on the book and its themes as they relate to travel. Our book club operates on a Pay-What-You-Can model. We thank you for your generosity and kindness.

If you can’t make the book club, it will be available to watch here and on our YouTube page. We recommend you subscribe to our page so that you get a notification when it’s posted. You can also make a donation through our Ko-Fi page if you’d like to help us support a non-profit. 

Purchase the book here 

Disclaimer: Should you decide to purchase a book using a link from our site, JourneyWoman may earn a small commission, which helps us maintain this website and continue to produce our free monthly magazine and other free services. This commission does not come out of your pocket, it is paid by the bookseller to us. 

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Once-in-a-Lifetime Book Box:  Camino de Santiago, Antarctica and Africa

We’ve partnered with the Wordy Traveler to offer you a special subscription box that includes three paperback books (or a code for ebook download), ethically sourced premium tea evocative of the region, a reading light and a JourneyWoman small recycled plastic luggage tag and red JourneyWoman safety whistle/keychain. This allows you to get all three books at a discounted price with plenty of time to read them in advance!

This special box includes: 

  • The Long Road Home: One Woman’s True Story of Reclaiming Her Life Along the Legendary Camino de Santiago by Alesa Teague 
  •  Our House in Arusha, by Sara Tucker 
  • Magnetic North: Notes from the Arctic Circle by Sara Wheeler 

Kindle version here   Paperback version here 

Please put code JWREADS in the coupon section. Prices do not include shipping. Items will ship from the US via the USPS.

books in a suitcase box
A sign of the Camino de Santiago at sunset in the middle of nature as it passes through Cantabria

In “The Long Road Home” Alesa Teague Reclaims her Life Along the Camino de Santiago

As part of our Once-in-a-Lifetime Travel Experiences series, we feature Alesa Teague’s Camino de Santiago memoir “The Long Road Home”.

Read More

About Tanzania 

Tanzania (officially the United Republic of Tanzania) has been on my list ever since Pauline Frommer mentioned it to me at the New York TImes Travel Show in 2020. Just hearing about the wildlife, the Seregenti and people stimulated my curiosity. Tanzania is home to Africa’s highest mountain, Kilimanjaro, but the country has other UNESCO World Heritage sites worth exploring, including the Stone Town of Zanzibar. 

The name “Tanzania” was created by the names of the two states that unified to create the country: Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which consists of the first three letters of the names of the two states (“Tan” and “Zan”) and the suffix, “ia” to form Tanzania.

Key phrases (From Sara’s book): 

  • Thank you – Asante sana
  • You are welcome – Karibu
  • No problem – Hamma shida

Image from Lonely Planet 

Book Club Discussion Questions 

Questions will be posted the week prior to the meeting. Please check back closer to the date! 

Discover More of Africa

As the CEO and Editor of JourneyWoman, Carolyn is a passionate advocate for women's travel and living the life of your dreams. She leads JourneyWoman's team of writers and chairs the JourneyWoman Women's Advisory Council and Women's Speaker's Bureau. She has been featured in the New York Times, Toronto Star and Zoomer as a solo travel expert, and speaks at women's travel conferences around the world. In March 2023, she was named one of the most influential women in travel by TravelPulse and was the recipient of a SATW travel writing award in September 2023. She is the chair of the Canadian chapter of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), a member Women's Travel Leaders and a Herald for the Transformational Travel Council (TTC). Sometimes she sleeps. A bit.

1 Comment

  1. Mary Morrison

    Hi! I write books and stories about my travels and wonder how I can get listed on your book page or do an event. I have been to all seven continents and 100 countries but am currently writing about Africa. I spent a year volunteering in east and south Africa (Looking for the Lioness and Lioness Unbound) and am currently working on a memoir about going overland across Africa in a WWII Army truck and ambulance in 1974.
    I have subscribed to your magazine for a while and would like to connect with your readers. Thanks!

    Reply

We always strive to use real photos from our own adventures, provided by the guest writer or from our personal travels. However, in some cases, due to photo quality, we must use stock photography. If you have any questions about the photography please let us know.

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