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THE STORY

Russell Reid is an esteemed travel writer who has been living a lie: for the past 15 years, he hasn't left his home. Shelby Blake is on her way to start college when her father's broken promise spurs her to steal his car. When the two unexpectedly cross paths, their clandestine meeting goes cross-country, as they explore the American Northwest while struggling to keep the truth about themselves a secret from one another. Somewhere Between the Ends of the Earth is a mosaic: a collection of disparate but interlinked stories about what it means to be authentic, how much we really remember, and the lies we tell ourselves to get by.

“Somewhere Between the Ends of the Earth is a travel guide to a journey of self-discovery.”

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ELLIOT MATSON

A brief stint in the travel industry was all Elliot Matson needed to develop a unique affinity and disdain for it. His narrative weaves disparate yet related characters and examines their relationships to their surroundings and what it means to experience, sense and remember authentically. Matson writes a travel guide to a journey of self discovery.

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RUSSELL REID

Esteemed travel writer for publishing monolith Wanderjahr Guidebooks, Russell hasn’t left his Portland home in 15 years. Coping with his anxiety from a life on the move, Russell discovered he could craft visceral guidebooks without the burden of traveling. He views himself as the best of the best and avoids the harsh reality of defrauding the company, his readers and his own family. But when he’s selected to lead a company intern on an educational trip, Russell needs to grapple with going outside, keeping his story straight and the lies he tells himself—tempering his ego with an imminent nervous breakdown.

“He was Russell Reid! You couldn’t pick up one of the company’s travel guides anymore without following his poetry down a winding road.”

SHELBY BLAKE

Angsty teen adrift in Portland, Shelby is stuck between her overbearing mom, new family and a deadbeat dad she feels has forgotten her. Leaving town and driving to college is her chance to reconnect with her dad, get away from her mom and finally start her life. But a broken promise leads Shelby to steal her dad’s car and on her way out of town she crosses paths with a newly emerged Russell. Shelby introduces herself as the company intern seeing an opportunity for an adventure and the two set off on a cross country road trip. Shelby learns about herself and begins to confront and re-examine her relationships through learning the craft of travel writing.

“She was alone. A plunging asymptote. She was rapidly approaching zero. And if she didn’t leave, it sure felt like it would happen soon.”

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THE GREAT NORTHWEST

Taking cues from classic road trip stories, Russell and Shelby’s world is the open road. As Russell leads Shelby from Portland across the American northwest, he teaches her about the world by way of small towns and highway stopovers. Interspersed and supportive of the main narrative are excerpts of Russell’s guidebooks, Shelby’s first forays into travel writing and anecdotes from characters around the world tangentially related to the themes, emotions and changing settings of the story.

“So, that’s It. Right? With a Capital I. But this,” he pointed at landmarks one by one, “is everything. You might squeeze out a few sentences from standing on some remote hiking trail like John Muir, but this is where you get everything else. That’s travel writing, Shelby. Everything but It.”