I want to live a life that matters.

With these eight emotional words, Ken Budd embarks on a quest to help others—from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to a special needs school in China, from climate change research in Ecuador to projects in Kenya, Costa Rica, and the West Bank. A moving memoir of sacrifice and
self-discovery, The Voluntourist is part love story, part travel tale; a book about losing your father and finding your destiny; and a wry yet wise treatise on changing lives—including your own. Learn more

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Latest News

New Pieces for Travel + Leisure and AARP

Last summer, my neighbors Marianna and Sándor Subert embarked on a cross-country road trip with an altruistic twist. After driving their 2006 Volvo S40 from Virginia to California, they ended […]

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Meet Ken

Ken Budd has written for The New York Times, Smithsonian, National Geographic, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and many more publications. After volunteering in New Orleans and Costa Rica, Ken volunteered in China, Ecuador, Palestine, and Kenya for his award-winning memoir, The Voluntourist. Read More

Reviews & Praise

“In this sincere and subtly written memoir, Budd gracefully—and often humorously—records how he changes ‘emotionally, physically, spiritually’ as he travels to work with ‘people with real problems and different perspectives.”

- Publishers Weekly

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