My first book, The Sophisticated Savage, was published in 2009. It’s based on my experiences in Ecuador in 2001, when I taught English for a summer on the Galápagos Islands, and 2005. From the back cover:
An anthropological memoir with a romantic twist. A Harvard student and an ex-cannibal may seem like an unlikely pair, but on a dance floor in Ecuador, their steps matched. Author Carla Seidl met Amazon-Jungle-born surfer Fredy Andi while teaching on the Galápagos Islands at age nineteen, and her life has never been the same since. Several years later, thinking that perhaps simple living was the key to happiness, Seidl returned to the islands to unearth more about Fredy’s story and see if their connection, and his seemingly carefree lifestyle, were for real. The duo ended up traveling to the Amazon Jungle to try to find Fredy’s family, and Seidl survived to tell the tale.
…Carla Seidl presents fascinating insights about the simplicity of life and happiness. “The Sophisticated Savage” is an intriguing read, highly recommended.
Midwest Book Review
The Sophisticated Savage can be purchased online in paperback or as a digital download from Lulu.com. It is now also available from Amazon.com and from Barnes and Noble as a NOOK eBook.
To read a 2015 review of this book (in Spanish) in the Ecuadorian journal La Revista out of Guayaquíl, click here.