I took a short trip to Japan over 20 years ago and kept going. I've now spent more of my life living aboard than I did growing up in the US. During the day I run international aid projects that hopefully make the world a nicer place. In the early mornings and late evenings I'm either writing, walking or relaxing on a porch, preferably with a drink and a view. I'm a sucker for strong coffee, adventures, and friends who pretend they haven't heard all of my stories. WALKING IN CIRCLES is my debut book, but I've written in other back alleyways too. I write regularly on my website ToddWassel.com. I won the People’s Choice Award in the Southeast Asia Travel Writing Competition and have been featured in Lonely Planet, the Diplomat and ABC Australia. Not to mention the thousands of family photo albums I must be a part of by now! I've worked in and traveled to more than 45 countries. I started out teaching English in Japan for over half a decade, was a conflict and mediation advisor in Timor-Leste, a human rights advocate in Sri Lanka, and a hiking consultant in Kosovo, a job I still doesn’t know why I left. Yes, there are degrees that make you qualified to do all of those things! I've has seen the sun rise over Machu Pichu and from the top of Mount Fuji, dived the reefs of the Maldives, Indonesia and Thailand, honeymooned in Bosnia and Herzegovina, danced for days at weddings in India, and walked the 750-mile pilgrimage to the 88 temples of Shikoku Japan, twice. I currently live near the banks of the Mekong river in Vientiane, Laos with my wife and two small kids. We split our time between Laos, Japan and the US