While I Can: Finding Purpose and Legacy in a Distant La… (2024)

In Jo Dibblee’s, “While I Can: Finding Purpose and Legacy in a Distant Land,” living every day as if it were your last is not just a mere statement but a hard-hitting truth.

Dibblee has gone through various tests and appointments since her diagnosis of Vascular Ehlers-Danlos (VEDS), a serious syndrome that can weaken the major arteries causing aneurysms. The last test surprisingly overturns her stance on life after spending about twenty minutes listening to Dr. Anderson explain the results. Her mind gets lost in the haze, only to come back to her senses and hear the doctor telling her husband Michael, “It’s time for her to smell the flowers. Don’t wait.”

In this epic read, readers are introduced to two highly inspiring love birds, who solidify a plan to travel to a foreign land, despite its negative stories from the newsrooms. Breaking the details of their venture stirs up a sad reception from family and friends who in vain attempt to shoot down their ambition. A series of unpredictable turns follow, such as Michael’s diagnosis of prostate cancer. Dibblee says, “This was not about early intervention. It was way past that. The message was: act now, or you will die.” Although they had to steer through some rough waters, they both remained resolute and supportive of each other and lost sight of what Dr. Anderson had spoken of.

Readers will feel challenged to get out of their comfort zones and try something entirely different, no matter how difficult it may seem at first, after encountering this mesmerizing tale. The author is certain that life always gives two choices- to either be an observer or an active player. This assertion is bound to bring many people into a time of deep introspection regarding their choice of life, today and in the future. Jo tries to break the chilling mood that is created by the sad experiences with a sense of humor here and there. Her voice is warm and soothing, and it beautifully weaves a story that sounds like a Hollywood invention with utmost precision and keenness to the emotions of her audience, using a masterful prose that allows readers to experience the adventure on the pages for themselves.

“While I Can: Finding Purpose and Legacy in a Distant Land” is without a doubt a beautiful must-read story, that ascertains the words of Mandy Hale- Life isn’t meant to be lived perfectly… but merely to be lived: boldly, wildly, beautifully, uncertainly, imperfectly, magically lived. By the end of the book, readers are bound to deliberately think of their purpose and endeavor to live their legacy while they still can. This is a highly recommended motivational tool for readers of all ages and backgrounds.

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While I Can by Jo Dibblee is an inspirational travel memoir that documents the author and her husband's decision to throw caution to the wind and leave their home in Canada to embark upon an adventure of a lifetime to Baja, Mexico.

What starts out as a plan to spend a winter there turns into something so much more as they fall in love with Baja, the community, and the people. While Michael pursues his dream to master kitesurfing in one of the best places on earth for the sport, Jo gets involved in fostering dogs and eventually helping set up Team Baja Humanity, a grassroots project that aims to uplift communities in need in Baja.

Their travels end up being a life-affirming journey of discovery that changes them and their lives in ways they never imagined when setting out on this epic adventure.

I absolutely loved this book. It's gloriously optimistic and brimming with raw emotion. As Jo Dibblee takes the reader along for the ride, her writing vividly conjures up the experience of embracing the unknown and opening yourself up to life's possibilities. The writing is top-notch, and I really enjoyed feeling part of the author's emotional journey.

A key theme of the book is grasping life by the horns "while you can." It is this moto that propels Jo and her husband onto their path of Baja after recent health scares put their own mortality into sharp focus. Overall, Jo's book is full of hard-won life wisdom and is a pleasure to read.

"Most things in life must be experienced and learned; there's no shortcut or free pass. It is from these moments we know and do better, or, at the very least, become wiser. It wasn't as though we hadn't done our research and talked to others, but there were plenty of things we did not, or could not, know." (p 43)

Through her words, Jo portrays the transformational effect of travel and weaves a story that is full of love not only for travel but for people, relationships, communities, and the wider world. She effectively brings her experience to life with well-written, vivid descriptions and extraordinary emotional intelligence. Her words are sure to inspire a healthy dose of wanderlust in her readers! Her commitment to other people and being of service to those in need is both touching and inspirational.