“Funnier, more relatable millennial version of Eat, Pray, Love.” – Arab News
Where to Nest: A Global Search for Love, Cheap Wine and a Place to Belong
In her debut comedic travel memoir(April 2, 2024, Rising Action Publishing Co.), Kristen Van Nest weaves an entertaining story for anyone who needs a good laugh, travel ideas, and inspiration for adding more joy to their lives.
After college getting her dream job in New York City, Kristen thought she had everything a modern Millennial was supposed to want: a sexy zip code, a boyfriend, and a corporate job.
But instead of feeling content, she soon realized she had no idea who she was and what made her happy. Naturally, she did what any sane person would do: hopped on a plane and spent the rest of her twenties living abroad and traveling the world in search of love, adventure, and new and exciting places to eat bread.
By stripping away the cultural norms and expectations she grew up with in the US, she rebuilt from scratch a new identity, sense of self, and life purpose that ultimately led her to move to Los Angeles to pursue comedy. Through living in Luxembourg on a Fulbright Scholarship and then in China for three years working for a wine importer, Where to Nest takes us across the globe–including nearly being murdered by a lover while skiing in Switzerland, navigating Greece during a banking crisis, and visiting Thailand during a government coup–as a woman struggles to find belonging.
Highlights
Engaging Stories: “Travels, trysts, and tribulations: comedian Kristen Van Nest’s debut memoir has it all. Van Nest describes scraping together funds for far-flung ventures which include interviewing the government in Luxembourg on a Fulbright Scholarship, falling down a mountain in Switzerland because of an overzealous date, avoiding a threesome in Germany with her love interest’s sister and a stranger, accidentally visiting Thailand during a government coup, and much more. After spending three years in China, where she worked for a wine importer and cut her teeth doing stand-up, Van Nest returned to the U.S., moved to Los Angeles, and transitioned into comedy, acting, and writing.” – Paste Magazine
Wanderlust: “Fans of Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love will find an updated and funnier, more relatable millennial version in Kristen Van Nest’s debut memoir, Where to Nest.” – Arab News
Relatable Millennial Themes: “If you loved MaryKate and Ashley travel movies growing up, this book is for you. Kristen Van Nest embodies the two of these hilarious, bright-eyed plucky souls in adult form, chronicling her dating misadventures, travel dramas, work dilemmas, and life as a jet-setting young professional in the early 2010s. […] This is an excellent memoir for current 30-somethings who came of age at the same time as Van Nest. It will make you look back on your days as an unmarried, cute young woman with some fondness, but not enough to want to go back!” – Insider Life’s Laura Donovan
Valuable Insights: Beyond laughs, I offer practical advice on travel, navigating life’s challenges, picking your favorite wine, and pursuing creative passions. “Where to Nest is a frank and refreshing look at what happens after one achieves success and is left with that empty feeling of ‘okay… what now?’ Whether you’re currently up to your neck in the hustle and grind or trying to balance on the peak you’ve managed to climb to, Kristen’s globetrotting journey is surprisingly humorous, humanizing, and heartening.” – Emmy-nominated SNL writer Alan Linic
Kristen Van Nest 