The Oblivion Seekers by Isabelle Eberhardt translated by Paul Bowles (author of The Sheltering Sky) is a small collection of writings that fascinated me and sent me traveling around the world on my own many many years ago. I have just revisited this slim volume after my daughter asked me “Who was the woman you read about who dressed up like a man and traveled in North Africa over 100 years ago?”

Re-reading Eberhardt’s work continues to inspire me. Much of her writing was lost in the flood which took her life, but what remains is a window into a world never seen by any woman at that time. Her life took her from France and Switzerland to Tunisia, Algeria and beyond. She lived day to day and was always trying to escape the chains of traditional life in a search of absolute freedom. These essays and diary notes taken together are a glimpse into the spirit of an extraordinarily brave and singular woman.

Eberhardt was inspired by the French writer Pierre Loti, and this past Summer I sat drinking tea with my daughter on Pierre Loti Hill in Istanbul, something I couldn’t have imagined 25 years ago. I have to credit Eberhardt for lighting the spark in me to travel to so many far off remote places that have shaped my life and the love of reading women writers from all corners of the world as well.