A Marriage Sabbatical

With a backpack and $1,500, she traveled 50,000 miles alone around the world. She was stranded in Iran, received by Indira Ghandi in India, and spent the night in a mud hut just a few miles from cannibal country in Papua New Guinea. Granted an audience with the King of Tonga and trading her clothes for lodgings on Easter Island were some of the experiences that enabled her to rediscover new strengths and potential long since dormant in a marriage grown stale.

But the adjustments the new liberated Sabina and her husband had to make upon her return home six months later, (and 30 pounds thinner) proved to be the most difficult part of her "sabbatical". Ultimately their marriage becomes richer and stronger than either could have imagined.

A Marriage Sabbatical is a fascinating and inspirational account of a middle-aged woman's extraordinary, lone, global odyssey in search of herself, told with warmth, candor, and good humor.

"A true tale, filled with drama, humor, tenderness and love. It serves as an example of how two people came to recognize and enjoy the need for each other while appreciating the necessity to stand alone." — Bea Moss, Miami Herald

"A generous honest book. Good reading." — Phyllis Theroux, The Washington Post

"A Marriage Sabbatical is a beautiful book. It is a privilege to accompany this remarkable woman on this physical and spiritual journey." — Lynn Eckman (Professor Roanoke College), Roanoke Times

"As a travel book this is marvelous. As a journey of a woman's growth it is superb." — Margaret B. Spittler, Burrelle's

"Her lessons and incredible adventures are shared enthusiastically and rendered thoughtfully." &mdash Marcia R. Hoffman, American Library Association

"A Marriage Sabbatical is wise and worldly — a lively and affectionate story of how one woman coped with unexpected crises and pleasures." — Larry Rumley, Seattle Times

"A Marriage Sabbatical is entertaining reading particularly so for anyone who has ever felt suffocated by the expectations of others, who regret the rut life has fallen into; who wishes living today affords more adventure." — Marilyn Bailey, St. Paul/Minn. Pioneer Press & Dispatch

A Marriage Sabbatical is the true story of Sabina Shalom, who exchanged a brilliant single-life career for marriage and motherhood. After 30 years of making a home for her husband and their two sons, she felt frustrated in her role as live-in-maid and asked her husband for time off with pay!

With a backpack and $1,500, she traveled 50,000 miles alone around the world. She was stranded in Iran, received by Indira Ghandi in India, and spent the night in a mud hut just a few miles from cannibal country in Papua New Guinea. Granted an audience with the King of Tonga and trading her clothes for lodgings on Easter Island were some of the experiences that enabled her to rediscover new strengths and potential long since dormant in a marriage grown stale.

But the adjustments the new liberated Sabina and her husband had to make upon her return home six months later, (and 30 pounds thinner) proved to be the most difficult part of her "sabbatical". Ultimately their marriage becomes richer and stronger than either could have imagined.

A Marriage Sabbatical is a fascinating and inspirational account of a middle-aged woman's extraordinary, lone, global odyssey in search of herself, told with warmth, candor, and good humor.

Born and educated in England, Sabina Shalom, a trained social worker, volunteered with UNNRA to work with concentration camp survivors in Europe after the war. Later, Sabina was appointed to direct the operation "Rescue Children" which brought orphaned youngsters to England and placed them in foster homes.

Her career took a new direction when she became a Broadcast-Journalist with the BBC (London) but after her marriage and a move to the United States, raising her children became her full-time job. As they matured, she turned to writing and has been published in various magazines on both sides of the Atlantic.

In Miami, Florida, Shalom hosted a program "New Books-New Authors."

Since the publication of A Marriage Sabbatical, she has spoken to universities, women's clubs and various organizations nation-wide. The Cunard Shipping Line invited her to give a series of lectures aboard three Trans-Atlantic voyages of the Q.E.2

Sabina and her husband are naturalized American citizens. They have two sons and four grandchildren