Winner of the Pottersfield Prize for Creative Nonfiction

What happens when two independent-minded travellers from vastly different backgrounds meet up on the road, connect deeply for a moment, but then must immediately part ways? And just as they both begin to realize the spark from this long-distance relationship may be worth a real commitment, a global pandemic locks them down on opposite sides of the world.

James is a serial solo backpacker at heart who works as a lawyer in Canada. Mirriam grew up on the other side of the world in rural Zambia, where she also dreamt of travelling the world. The paths of these unlikely lovers cross for the first time in Cape Town in 2018. Mirriam is about to leave her life in South Africa behind to start work on a cruise ship in Venice. James has just arrived after a fifty-two-day tall ship sailing adventure, a sabbatical from the office to contemplate his future that brought him across the ocean from Argentina via Antarctica.

The lllogical Adventure is a true story about meeting someone and gradually realizing over time that you don't want to live without them. Candidly told from each of their two perspectives, this memoir is a jet-setting tale of exploration, of universal questions of chance and fate, and of love's enduring power to overcome distance and cultural differences, no matter the odds.

James grew up in Moncton and has called Halifax home for twenty years since arriving to study law at Dalhousie University. He also holds an MFA in Creative Non-Fiction from the University of King's College. He works as a regulatory lawyer in Atlantic Canada's electricity and natural resources sector. Mirriam is originally from the small village of Batoka in Zambia and her educational and professional background are in the health and tourism sectors. They live in Cole Harbour with their sons, Anderson Arthur and Jack Benjamin. This is their first book.

James MacDuff's profile page

James grew up in Moncton and has called Halifax home for twenty years since arriving to study law at Dalhousie University. He also holds an MFA in Creative Non-Fiction from the University of King's College. He works as a regulatory lawyer in Atlantic Canada's electricity and natural resources sector. Mirriam is originally from the small village of Batoka in Zambia and her educational and professional background are in the health and tourism sectors. They live in Cole Harbour with their sons, Anderson Arthur and Jack Benjamin. This is their first book.

Mirriam Mweemba's profile page