Becoming Fearless

Finding Courage in the African Wilderness

By: Brenda E Smith

Narrated by: Brenda E Smith

Best Non-Fiction Travel Book 2023 by Reader Views

Coerced by her boss and fellow rivers guides, Brenda Smith reluctantly embarks on a rafting trip through a vast Tanzanian game reserve. If she can survive twelve days on the remote jungle rivers, then she must scale Africa’s tallest mountain. After twenty-eight years of a safe and predictable life, Brenda is terrified of what awaits her in these dangerous wildernesses.

She comes face to face with angry hippos, roaring lions and stealthy crocodiles, and struggles with the extremes of unbearable heat and hypothermia.

Despite the harsh external threats she conquers, her greatest challenge is a profound inner journey—a courageous transformation as she uncovers the internal source of her fears and discovers the personal strength to do anything.

Becoming Fearless is an inspirational true story that showcases what is possible when you step out of your comfort zone into the wild.

©2023 Brenda E Smith (P)2024 Brenda E Smith

Critic reviews

“The fires of transformation blaze in this superbly delightful portmanteau of a book. Brenda Smith undergoes a revolution in consciousness as she warily leaves the ordinary behind, steps off the comfort train, and careens into the strange and fantastic world of rafting crocodile-infested rivers and climbs high into the African sky. With her journey, the stitches that hold her tamed world together come undone, and an enthralled eyewitness to the wonders of the world emerges.” ~ Richard Bangs, one of Explorersweb’s 100 greatest explorers of the last 100 years

Adventure & growth of courage

I liked hearing how Smith's image of herself changed as she experienced more of life with her wilderness guides. Not only an enjoyable traveling but also a metaphor for being open minded and challenging ones beliefs.

Absolutely fascinating, impossible to put down!

The title is spot on and the audio book does not disappoint. In this beautifully written book the author shared her most intimate emotions while moving through her transformative experiences. Her honesty allowed the reader to feel the depth of her fears!

Memoir of an Epic Adventure

If you're into stories of people going on life-changing adventures, you'll want to check out this book.

In "Becoming Fearless," Brenda Smith trades her routine desk job for a 170-mile river trek through one of Africa’s last untouched jungle reserves. Along the way she has to battle the elements and face off with fearsome hippos and crocodiles. And if that wasn’t enough, they also have to scale Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain peak in Africa.

It’s a wild adventure story, where you either sink or swim. Brenda starts out scared but learns to face her fears head-on. This transformation is the heart of her story, and it’s pretty inspiring.

What’s also great about this audiobook is that Brenda narrates her own story. This really drew me into her struggles and made the book so much more vivid and relatable to me. It’s a gripping and uplifting read.

If you’re looking for a book that will spark your adventurous spirit and push you to face your fears, this is it. Don’t miss out on this incredible journey.

Illuminating Memoir with a Relatable Character Arc

The author's memoir is an engaging account of her adventures in Africa while, albeit sometimes reluctantly, endeavoring to leave her comfort zone behind and experience the unknown. Her honesty about her limitations and willingness to ignore them, or at least stifle them for a bit, is relatable. I enjoyed listening to her adventures. The audio book, narrated by the author, is engaging and the author's emotions are evident as she narrates her memoir. Loved the sound effects for each chapter. The author's own voice and these sound effects put me by her side throughout her adventures.

the beautiful imagery Brenda created

loved it all! especially the descriptions of the animals and their habitats. Best book ever!

Interesting and Inspiring

I listened to this audio book. I found it interesting and inspiring. I wouldn't have, in a million years, wanted to do the raft trip in Africa the author did, but I found it fascinating to learn about her experience and the profound change it had on her. The audio book is narrated by the author which is always a plus. I recommend the book if you like memoirs or have any interest in river rafting or Africa.

An honest and compelling journey as told by the author.

Becoming Fearless by Brenda E. Smith is a story about her journey in the wilderness of Tanzania rafting and climbing Kilimanjaro. It is also a compelling tale of her transformation from an accountant in a high-powered firm in Boston to working for Sobek Expeditions out west as a rafting guide and their in-house accountant.

This memoir describes in depth the difficulty and dangers of rafting a river filled with alligators and hippos. It also is an incredibly honest look at her fears and anxiety over adventuring out of her comfort zone and how she conquered those fears.

I enjoyed her vivid descriptions of encountering dangerous wildlife and the logistics necessary to accomplish this trip. I would like to know more about the clients that were escorted on this adventure.

The fact that the author narrated the audio book helped me understand her appreciation and the emotions she felt during the trip. I also liked the wonderful sound effects between each chapter. I will definitely recommend this book to my friends.

A Journey of Courage

Imagine a journey that terrifies you, intrigues you, inspires you and prepares you for life. In "Becoming Fearless" Brenda E. Smith describes how she found courage and strength in the African Wilderness as a young, accountant from Boston. The book is a joy to read but the narration of the book by Brenda E. Smith is an exciting, frightening, and personal account of her time as a river guide in Tanzania. As part of a team the work is daunting, difficult, and never ending for the guides and a lot harder than most jobs. Brenda's honesty and assessment of her own skills make it easy for the listener to identify with her. Her good humor, optimism, and respect for the animals encountered and the local populace is heartwarming and like compelling stories of adventure make you want to be there with her. Jungle sound effects heighten the suspense and she becomes a friend (rafiki) of a young girl. "Jamba rafiki" or "Hello, Friend" is an universally encouraging statement but on a unchartered river filled with crocs, hippos, and other beasts of the wild it helps allay her fears and brings humanity together.

This is what this book is about...overcoming the fear that we all have in life that keeps us from growing, learning, and living a fuller life. Brenda develops into a woman with a different outlook and viewpoint on the world. The listener becomes absorbed in this development and the adventure presented. I cannot too strongly recommend this book to anyone of any age or gender and the words "Jamba rafiki" will long resonate with me.

Adventure despite fear

What a fantastic journey! I am thrilled to have been on a virtual journey with you.

A must-read for adventurers

This audiobook is an exhilarating and transformative journey that takes readers deep into the African wilderness. Brenda's adventure, from facing wild animals to scaling Africa's tallest mountain, is not only thrilling but also deeply inspiring, showing the incredible strength we can find within ourselves. Beautifully capturing the raw power of nature and the equally powerful inner transformation that comes when we confront our deepest fears, with courage and resilience shining through every page. A compelling narrative that will resonate with anyone seeking to break free from their comfort zone and embrace the unknown with bravery.