Absorbing, thought-provoking, exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "WanderLOST: Stories from the Winding Road Toward Significance" will be of immense interest to readers of contemporary memoirs, true-life travel adventures, and Christian social issues dealing with globalization and politics. Also available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99), "WanderLOST" will prove an immediately welcome and enduringly popular addition to community and academic library Contemporary History/Memoir collections. ~ Midwest Book Review, Review

This exuberant coming-of-age story charts one millennial’s decades-long globetrotting adventure in pursuit of personal meaning, significance, and belonging. Along the way, he reckons with the ingrained modern tendency to idolize self-seeking pursuits and discard the more humble, courageous journey of learning to love. WanderLOST melds memoir, theology, and social theory to guide readers toward a renewed vision of where the Church in America must find its place at this moment in history. Sims asks readers to be aware of and concerned about global injustice and invites them to think more deeply about how to be a part of God’s vision for reconciliation. Verdict: In my humble opinion, from the off I will tell you that WanderLOST: Stories from the Winding Road Toward Significance is not only a most beautifully arced, wholly organic, and excruciatingly heartfelt story, but from start to finish, and coupled within the figuratively proffered outstretched author’s hand, we journey with him to places that, if our eyes are closed, through his prose, we can still see and feel. As aforementioned, Jacob Sims asks readers to be aware of, and concerned about, global injustice and through this compelling new work, invites them to think more deeply about how to be a part of God’s vision for reconciliation. For as we walk alongside Sims, seeing what he sees, feeling the very same emotions that he himself was feeling at those times, this unique journey, nay, adventure opens up before us, chapter after chapter, where we may not always agree with every thought that is given, but the ultimate guidance within toward a better, brighter, more hopeful world, is one that can never be questioned. Strategic, structured, to a point, but always authentic and innovative, Sims’ own personal road to becoming a believer, a follower of God is prevalent throughout, this his heartfelt reasoning for getting to the veritable core of what it means to be a God-worshiping human, is a story that needs to be unceasingly broadcast wherever needs be. And, let me be clear about this, this book is not just for all those that believe in God, and have Him willingly in their daily lives, no, for this book is all-encompassing in a way where Sims dutifully wishes to welcome all humans along for the journey. Simply put, and taking us to places scattered around the globe, such as West and East Africa, Middle East, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the United States, WanderLOST: Stories from the Winding Road Toward Significance asks us to consider some heartfelt human questions, such as What gives purpose to Life, What is Freedom, and What is Justice, amongst others. Questions that we should all know our own answers to by now, sure, but perhaps those that haven’t gotten there yet will find that this book gently helps guide them, in ways, and ostensibly via emotional, comedic, dramatic passages, that they never knew even existed. ~ Exclusive Magazine, https://annecarlini.com/ex_books.php?id=452

What a great read! Sims asks essential questions in his memoir: What ways do I clutter and limit my life through the construction of my shifting, personal identity? Where do I invest truly in others at the cost of my own comfort and wants? How do our current economic and cultural values determine the direction my life takes? His story is a deeply challenging call to openness, generosity, and true freedom, and because of this, it’s well worth the read. ~ William Henry - A Christian Philosophy

The Scripture says that we work out our salvation with fear and trembling. It's not about a moment… it’s about a movement of the Spirit in us. WanderLOST is a beautiful story, a tremendous-global-adventure kind of story, of one man’s salvation being worked out with fear and trembling. Sims asks all the right questions. He gently invites you to ask them with him. He travels the world and brings you along. He offers the hope he has found with a humility that invites you to ponder with him where you have found hope. This is one wanderer sharing with the rest of us where he found home. One hungry traveler telling us where we can find food. One young man in the wilderness telling us where there is a source of good water. ~ Shane Claiborne, Activist, Author, co-founder - Red Letter Christians

WanderLOST ushers the reader into an authentic adventure – gently asking questions along the way while pointing us toward hope and sustenance for the journey. Through the years, Sims has proven himself to be a strategic thinker, committed to relationships…innovative and ever-willing to grow himself as a leader and follower of Christ. These qualities are evident throughout WanderLOST. I appreciate all that was poured into this story and trust there will be many who benefit from both his candor and humility. ~ Gary Haugen, Founder/CEO, International Justice Mission

WanderLOST is a story about one man’s outer adventures and inner journey, but it is also a story which gets at the very core of what it means to be human. As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn stated, “The battleline between good and evil runs through the heart of every man.” As a key component of this battle, Sims boldly confronts our modern understanding of what it really means to be free. In doing so, he asks us to question those things in our lives which keep us from reaching for that deeper freedom which can only emerge from a right relationship with our Creator. [This] is a story which asks us to recognize our own finiteness and insufficiency to do anything beyond radically loving those “others” placed in our midst. This is the best kind of story, not just because it is interesting and relatable, but because it is true. ~ David Eubank, Founder/CEO - Free Burma Rangers

In WanderLOST, Sims tells a globe-spanning story of a young man’s search for a life that counts for something. It’s his own story, recounted with an appealing vulnerability and straightforwardness, and it takes us to places as varied as the Middle East, West and East Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the United States. Through telling a wide range of experiences, this story forces the reader to grapple with fundamental human questions: What is freedom, and what is justice? What gives purpose to life? And what does it mean to surrender to this purpose? For anyone like Sims who, through his international work for human rights and development, has been immersed in the realities of how much of humanity lives, these questions are anything but theoretical. Nor should they be for the rest of us in a deeply interconnected world. ~ Peter Mommsen, Editor-in-Chief, Plough Quarterly

J. Daniel Sims is the kind of storyteller thinking travelers want to hear from. In WanderLOST, he offers the kind of deeply insightful and timely message which can only be born out of an adventurous life. Yet, he is also suitably vulnerable – flawed, self-aware, funny, torn by true love – you know, just the guy to make the hours fly by in any bug-eaten corner of the world. What’s more, he offers a convicting account of how easily us Western travelers can despoil the places and cultures we come home raving about. Through his immersive storytelling and trenchant observations, Sims will keep you turning pages all night under your mosquito net. WanderLOST broke my heart and shone a ray of hope. I highly recommend it. ~ David Kopp - Founding Editor, Convergent Books, Penguin Random House

In WanderLOST, Sims tells a story that is so particular it becomes universal, especially for the traveler or the globally minded Christ-follower. But anyone who has searched for meaning, identity, or community will find in him a fellow seeker. At times hilarious and at times heartbreaking, WanderLOST is at all times compelling. ~ Elizabeth Trotter, Executive Editor, A Life Overseas; Co-author, Serving Well

WanderLOST is a reflective tale of adventure and spiritual growth so honest that it critiques its own motives and the very essence of adventure itself. Having taken the ideals of young adventurous American life to their extreme ends, Sims offers a well-articulated contemplation of the shortcomings of such a life. He has a unique way of penetrating right through a story to reveal its depth of importance and pinpoint the greater meaning, underlying motive, etc. I found myself applying his takeaways to my own similar experiences and tearing up at his revelations and fresh interpretation. In sum, it is a book you can't put down but also can't resist processing the implications as you go. ~ Brant Copen, Executive Director - Adventures in Missions India

Jacob, thank you for your kind and interesting note. Sadly, I currently lack the time to make honest work of review writing. Thus, I am honored by your request but must humbly decline. Yours sincerely. ~ Wendell Berry, American novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, farmer