Writing became my way of processing those experiences, and over time I recognized that my personal journey around the world and inward could also inspire others to reflect on their own stories.
Ebony Walden – 25 September 2026
The Back Flap
In 2010, Ebony Walden—a twenty-nine-year-old city planner, poet, and New York transplant—embarked on an eight-month solo journey across fifteen countries and five continents. Propelled by a desire to find adventure and purpose, she goes from teaching English at an elementary school in Guatemala, to conducting poetry workshops in Kenya and paragliding over the Swiss Alps. She’s doing exactly what she set out to do: Explore numerous cultures and form meaningful connections with people, place, and poetry.
But Ebony quickly begins to find that every destination challenges her in unexpected ways, forcing her to confront long-buried traumas from growing up in poverty in New York. And it’s only through backpacking and volunteering around the globe, that she begins to understand that travel is not just about seeing the world, but about letting it change you.
Part poetic reflection, part coming-of-age story, Where I’m From invites readers to take their own journey beyond borders and come home to themselves.
About the book
What is the book about?
Where I’m From: A Poetic Journey Across Five Continents is a memoir of my 2010 journey across five continents and fifteen countries, where I volunteered, backpacked and wrote Where I’m From poems with new friends across the globe. It’s about the places I visited, the people I met, the poems I created with them and how those things helped me reflect on my upbringing. The journey ultimately changed my perspective on life, love and relationships, and I offer fifteen life lessons that I gleaned from the experience.
When did you start writing the book?
The seeds of this book were planted during my eight-month journey around the world in 2010, when I blogged extensively, took 7,000 pictures and filled journals with reflections and poems. I didn’t begin shaping it into a memoir until 2014, three years after I returned from my trip.
How long did it take you to write it?
The initial manuscript took about two years of focused writing to complete. I enrolled in two memoir-in-a-year classes at a local writing center between 2015 and 2017. I put it on the shelf for years and returned to it in 2024. Revision and the publishing process have taken about two years.
Where did you get the idea from?
The trip itself created the basis for the book. My friend wanted to go on an around-the-world trip and told me about it, and I ran with the idea. I was hosting an open mic at the time and writing poetry, so capturing other people’s stories through poetry became part of the idea for the 2010 journey, which I called The Poetic Justice World Tour. After I returned, I realized how much I had changed. Writing became my way of processing those experiences, and over time I recognized that my personal journey around the world and inward could also inspire others to reflect on their own stories.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
The hardest part was deciding what to leave out. My trip offered so many stories, but I wanted this memoir to focus on the elements of the trip that had changed me. Every chapter had to move the larger story of transformation forward. I took out the adventures that didn’t serve the core theme. For instance, I went to seventeen countries, but only wrote about fifteen because those were the places that had stories linked to transformation, a lesson or core theme, or an experience where I wrote a poem with people.
What came easily?
Writing about the trip itself. I blogged pretty much every day and had memorabilia and pictures from the trip. It was easy to look back on a day to see what I was doing, who I was with and even what I was wearing.
The poems came naturally because they were written in the moment, often while I was traveling. The greater challenge was weaving those poems into a memoir that told one cohesive story. More than fifteen years after the trip, it was hard to get in touch with folks for permission to use their poems. I put the content of the poems in the narrative, but the actual word-for-word poems, I had to leave out.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
Where I’m From is a memoir based on real experiences from my travels. I changed names and some identifying details to protect privacy, but the stories are rooted in real encounters with real people.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
I’ve been influenced by writers like Maya Angelou, Lucille Clifton and bell hooks. They each write with honesty and depth about Black womanhood, reminding me that our personal stories and poems can help us tell the truth about ourselves, the world and humanity.
Do you have a target reader?
I wrote this book for people who are curious about the world, about other cultures, and their own journey of self-discovery. My ideal readers are women who are drawn to solo travel, poetry, healing, spirituality and personal growth, especially Black women interested in soulful travel, self-discovery and transformation through the lens of another Black woman. The book also speaks to book clubs looking for thoughtful nonfiction by authors of color and readers who enjoy memoirs that explore identity, culture and women-centered narratives. If they enjoyed Wild or Eat, Pray, Love, they will find similar themes of journey, resilience and becoming in Where I’m From.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
My writing usually begins with immersive experiences that put me in interesting circumstances, with people who are different from me in a new place. I journal and capture videos and images along the way. I engage people and remember impactful conversations. Those experiences usually start with a question or curiosity that I follow through engagement, observation and reflection. Those things are at the heart of my writing. I revisit everything I’ve learned or captured to uncover the deeper themes and shape them into a cohesive story, essays, reflections and documentaries.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
Yes. My book outline was easy. The container was eight months of travel that I would move through by country, and the first chapter would take you from the idea, through planning, to getting on the plane to the first country.
I create a book or story outline with concrete themes, people, scenes or experiences for each chapter or section, and write into that.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
A little of both. I write a chapter or section, revise, get feedback and keep going. Then once I do that with each section or chapter, I go back and revise again. Every manuscript benefits from multiple rounds of editing after the first draft is complete. For this book, I wrote a chapter, revised it, moved to the next, and then completed numerous full-book edits before it was done.
Did you hire a professional editor?
I took two memoir-in-a-year writing classes and the instructor was my developmental editor. I got a copy editor after that, and then my publishing company proofread the final manuscript.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
No, I need quiet so I can concentrate.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
No. I submitted directly to She Writes Press, a hybrid publisher, because I believed in their publishing model and commitment to thoughtful, women-focused stories, and their tight timeline for publication aligned with my goals.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
I was not interested in spending my time trying to get an agent, then trying to get a traditional publisher. I don’t have a strong social media following, so I knew that is what traditional publishers are looking for. I felt like She Writes Press empowers writers with strong work to get published in a timely manner. I wanted to skip shopping around and pitching.
It was definitely a gradual process. As I researched different publishing paths, and spoke to people who had taken different paths. I realized I wanted the creative partnership of an independent hybrid press while maintaining an active role in bringing the book into the world.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
The cover was professionally designed through my publisher. I wanted something that reflected both the global nature of the memoir and the personal journey of a Black woman at its heart.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
I have a publicist and my own outreach strategy to complement their efforts. The launch includes a multi-city book tour, national media outreach, podcasts, essays, bookstore and library events, speaking engagements, and conversations that extend the themes of the book beyond.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
Write the best book you can. To do that, take classes and find a community of writers that will help you work on craft and hold you accountable. Pay for quality editing, get beta readers and then do your research and choose the publishing path that aligns with your goals, finances and capacity. Then remember that publishing is only the beginning. Building relationships, connecting with readers, and sharing your work consistently are important.
I think once you are finished with the book, you should think about what creative ecosystem you want to create around it. A tour? Talks? Workshops around the themes? Speaking engagements? How do you want the book’s themes to live beyond the page? For me, publishing is a jumping-off point to speaking that shares the themes and lessons from my book broadly in a multimedia way.
About You
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Jamaica, Queens, and Hempstead, Long Island, New York.
Where do you live now?
I live in Richmond, Virginia.
What would you like readers to know about you?
I’d like readers to know that I travel to connect with people and myself, not simply to collect destinations. The people I’ve met around the world have shaped me just as much as the places themselves, and that spirit of curiosity and connection is woven throughout this memoir.
In the daytime, I have a consulting business helping leaders create more just and inclusive communities. I publish essays on my Substack, Beyond Borders and in various media outlets, share my travels on TikTok, instagram and Youtube as well as self-produce a documentary series exploring Black culture across the African diaspora called Black Beyond Borders. Feel free to reach out, I love hearing from viewers and readers. Visit www.ebonywalden.com for details on my work.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently promoting Where I’m From, working on seasons two and three of my travel documentary series Black Beyond Borders, developing new writing projects and building a speaking platform that takes lessons from my travels and turns them into workshops, keynotes and immersive experiences that explore identity, leadership and creativity beyond borders.
End of Interview:
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