Every hockey mom worth her salt knows there’s an unwritten code of conduct for motherhood that has a whole lot to do with self-sacrifice and not a damn thing to do with self. So when opportunity knocks, I'm all for moms putting themselves first once in a while — a little less June Cleaver, a little more Courtney Love perhaps — and start going after what they really want.

That’s the premise behind Travellin’ Mama: A Parent’s Guide to Ditching the Routine, Seeing the World and Taking the Kids Along for the Ride.

Travellin’ Mama takes readers on a cheeky, lighthearted, global odyssey across Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and south-east Asia as one mom, one dad and two kids cover 80,000-plus kilometres on 15 flights, 20 buses, 10 cars, 26 boats, seven horses, one submarine, one truck, three trains, two subways and three trams.

It’s a year-long adventure that’s as much about ditching the routine and tossing out the play-by-the-rules parenting playbook as it is about seeing the world.

It’s about the funny stuff that happens on the road with kids. It’s also about the unbelievably annoying shit that makes you want to start smoking again.

Travellin’ Mama is actually about showing moms like you, particularly those who yearn to travel, that it’s possible to have their cake and eat it too. Because all evidence to the contrary, combining one’s passion for seeing the world with the passion one has for one’s own kids can actually be done. And it sure beats living with the regret and resentment of having put off one’s own dreams to faithfully toe the modern parent’s sacrificial line.

After all, going after what we want doesn’t make us bad or selfish parents, it actually makes us happier people … and therefore better parents.

Travellin’ Mama shows that even when things go horribly wrong, travelling with kids is still so right. Happy travels!

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