Open Mic Night in Moscow

The raucous and surprisingly poignant story of a young, Russia-obsessed American writer and comedian who embarked on a solo tour of the former Soviet Republics, never imagining that it would involve kidnappers, garbage bags of money, and encounters with the weird and wonderful from Mongolia to Tajikistan. Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Siberia are not the typical tourist destinations of a twenty-something, nor the places one usually goes to eat, pray, and/or love. But the mix of imperial Russian opulence and Soviet decay, and the allure of emotionally unavailable Russian men proved strangely irresistible to comedian Audrey Murray. At age twenty-eight, while her friends were settling into corporate jobs and serious relationships, Audrey was on a one-way flight to Kazakhstan, the first leg of a nine-month solo voyage through the former USSR. A blend of memoir and offbeat travel guide, this thoughtful, hilarious catalog of a young comedian’s adventures is also a diary of her emotional discoveries about home, love, patriotism, loneliness, and independence. Sometimes surprising, often disconcerting, and always entertaining, Open Mic Night in Moscow will inspire you to take the leap and embark on your own journey into the unknown. And, if you want to visit Chernobyl by way of an insane-asylum-themed bar in Kiev, Audrey can assure you that there’s no other guidebook out there. (She’s looked.) Solo Travel Humor: Follow a young comedian from an open mic in Moscow to a disastrous horse trek in Kyrgyzstan, finding laughter in kidnappers, insane-asylum-themed bars, and the quest for a decent cup of coffee. An Unconventional ‘Eat, Pray, Love’: Forget Italy and India. This is a coming-of-age journey through Soviet-era decay and post-communist chaos, fueled by an obsession with emotionally unavailable Russian men. Off-the-Grid Adventure: Navigate the Trans-Siberian Railway, camp beside Turkmenistan’s "Door to Hell," and survive the "most terrifying flight on Earth" in Tajikistan with a guide who’s looked for a better one (and couldn’t find it). A Sharp, Witty Travelogue: A poignant and hilarious exploration of home, independence, and patriotism from a woman who flew to the former USSR while her friends were settling down.