Franz Wisner had the world by the tail. He was engaged to the beautiful Annie, with whom he shared a passion for conservative politics and a command of quotes from the movie This Is Spinal Tap. He worked as a government-relations official for a California real-estate giant, rubbing elbows with bigwig politicians. But then his fiancée dumped him days before their wedding, and his boss demoted him. So he dragged his younger brother, Kurt, a Seattle realtor and divorcé, to Costa Rica for his already-scheduled honeymoon, where Wisner spilled his guts to a prostitute in the hotel bar. ("Not once did it occur to me that I was having a heart-to-heart with a woman who faked orgasms for a living.")

Both inspired and desperate, the two quit their jobs, sold their houses, gave away their belongings, and traveled the world for two years, romping through Europe in a newly purchased Saab, then hitting the Middle East, Southeast Asia, South America, and Africa. Along the way, Wisner got to know his brother in a way he never had ("Kurt had become ... my new best friend") and fought to move past his failed relationship.

Wisner's story is straightforward, heartfelt, and highly readable--though without any true, biting insights--and should connect with readers who've gone through a breakup, career change, or midlife crisis, or fantasized about quitting the rat race. His best travel tip? Throw away the guidebooks, and talk to the locals instead. --Andy Boynton


From Booklist
Coming soon to a library (and movie screen) near you is this true story of two brothers rediscovering each other and the meaning of life during 24 months of world travel. Jilted by his fiancee mere days before the wedding and demoted at work, Wisner collared his brother, Kurt, a Seattle Realtor, to celebrate his Costa Rican nonhoneymoon. That experience, with the help of a Saab purchase in Sweden, grew into subsequent lengthy trips to Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Sandwiched between the chuckles are letters to their grandmother and short, pointed chapters on best trip advice--for instance, attend a professional soccer match to understand culture--and some good lessons in hustling (bid against yourself, pretend there's a language barrier, among others). Humorous and heartening, it will be fun imagining which Hollywood hunks will star. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
This is the true story of Franz Wisner, a man who thought he had it all- a high profile career and the fiancée of his dreams- when suddenly, his life turned upside down. Just days before they were to be married, his fiancée called off the wedding. Luckily, his large support network of family and friends wouldn't let him succumb to his misery. They decided Franz should have a wedding and a honeymoon anyway- there just wouldn't be a bride at the ceremony, and Franz' travel companion would be his brother, Kurt.

During the "honeymoon," Franz reconnected with his brother and began to look at his life with newfound perspective. The brothers decided to leave their old lives behind them. They quit their jobs, sold all their possessions, and traveled around the world, visiting fifty-three countries for the next two years. In Honeymoon With My Brother, Franz recounts this remarkable journey, during which he turned his heartbreak into an opportunity to learn about himself, the world, and the brother he hardly knew.



About the Author
Franz Wisner is a writer/vagabond who, in a previous reincarnation, used to work as a lobbyist, a public relations executive, and a government press secretary. During his world journeys, he published numerous travel articles and opinion pieces, which appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, ABC News on-line, and Coast Magazine, among others. Franz and his brother, Kurt, are currently traveling the globe for their next book, also with St. Martin's Press.



Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
CHAPTER ONE

Amid the pine tree windbreaks and foamy Pacific shore, Sea Ranch, California, is a wonderful place to be dumped. The wild lilac and ill-tempered sea lions--they'll distract your attention for at least a few minutes after the woman of your dreams leaves you at the altar. That, and a h ell of a lot of booze.

My younger brother, Kurt, and I arrived early at the only dive bar in town, a place where the bartender would wince if he heard the words "mojito" or "caipirinha." We gave the bearded keep twenty dollars in advance to keep the drinks flowing. He put a few more beers in the cooler and promised to take special care of the group that would soon gather for the evening. It was going to be a long and interesting night.

The century-old Gualala Hotel greets visitors with white pillars and an Old West porch. Close your eves and imagine the thirsty cowboy tying his horse to the front rail. Open them and see tourists sitting around picnic tables in the dining room devouring family-size bowls of minestrone soup. The hotel's bar, with its knotty pine and boar-head decor, sits off the main entrance. It had one of those electric beer signs on the wall that morphed scenery from mountain to beach.

Kurt bought me a Budweiser and asked how I was doing. I didn't open up. I looked at his newly gray hair and thin face and realized I "couldn't" talk to him.

Growing up, the teenager's code of conduct prohibited me from associating with a brother two grade levels my junior. To impress my friends, I did everything I could to avoid him. He was happy to do the same. Since then, we saw each other only a handful of days a year. Usually around Christmas. Details of our lives were relayed through our mom. Neither of us took the initiative to do more.

I wanted to talk to Kurt. I needed to talk to Kurt, but I didn't know how. I felt an awkward paralysis, like a child who can't relate to his parents. I couldn't pull out the words. I remembered the days in the backseat of the light blue Ford station wagon. We could talk about anything back then--secret hiding places (always behind the built-in shelves in my room), optimal ways to torture our younger sister, Lisa (pin her down and pretend to spit), or that baseball card game I always seemed to lose; lay Tito Fuentes against the wall and try to knock him over from ten feet away with a Wilbur Wood or a Dusty Baker. Despite the distance between us, Kurt was still the first person I called after I learned, five days prior, my wedding was off.

I'd reached him on my cell phone as I sped up the 405 Freeway from my house in Newport Beach to my fiancee Annie's small, rent-controlled apartment in Santa Monica with the industrial-strength carpet and refrigerator in need of a cleaning. I couldn't remember the last time I phoned him. Probably to relay some bad news, like the death of our grandfather. We'd grown apart during the last decade. Kurt sold real estate in Seattle while I pursued a political career in Washington, D.C., and California. He sounded surprised to hear my voice. I sensed he knew something must be wrong. I needed him like I'd never needed a brother before.

"What's up?" he said.

"Not much. Weather's nice. Played golf the other day. My wedding's off. Did I mention the weather?"

Silence.

"Serious?"

"Serious. I'm on my way up to Annie's to get dumped right now. Her brother Gerald just called me to tell me she's not going to be able to go through with it."

"Man, I'm sorry," he said in a hushed tone. "What the hell happened?"

"Long story. I'll tell you later."

"What are you going to do?"

"I have no idea. Everything's paid for. People have rented cabins for the weekend. Some folks from overseas are already en route. Nightmare."

"Hmm."

"I haven't even been dumped yet and the only thing I can think about are those hundred phone calls I'll need to make tomorrow."

"That, um, sucks."

"I hate to ask you this, but is there any way you could fly down here to give me a hand? I'll pay for your ticket."

"No problem." he said without hesitation. "And you don't need to pay for anything. I'll leave you a message on your answering machine with my flight info."

I talked to my mom briefly after that, telling her the wedding was about to crash. I'd spared her from the rapidly rising list of problems in the previous weeks, though I knew she sensed them. Delays on invitations and unworn wedding rings are red flags to moms.

"You have no choice," she tried to console me. "She's doing you a huge favor by telling you now as opposed to after the wedding. Franz, it's a blessing. You'll see that. It might be a while, but eventually you'll see that."

I knew my parents would be hugely supportive. They always were. At times, maddeningly so. That didn't stop me from feeling I'd failed. I knew I couldn't talk to my father yet without breaking down. I just kept thinking about the photo display shelves in their living room, the ones packed with shots of their wedding in Yuba City four decades before, sister Lisa and Doug's the previous year, dogs present and past, favorite babysitters, the photo of my great-grandfather during his years in China. There'd be no Sea Ranch shots. And I wondered how long it would take until my mom removed the ones with Annie.


Copyright 2005 by Franz Wisner

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"A funny thing happened to Franz Wisner on his way to the altar." "For starters, his fiancee dumped him days before their large wedding at a remote resort on the northern California coast. But Franz is an optimist. He didn't panic (well, maybe just a little). With guests en route from as far away as Prague and Moscow and everything paid for, he decided to have his wedding anyway...just without a bride. Instead, seventy-five friends and family members gathered for a weekend tear-fest/confidence boost/red-wine bender." "Franz returned to his home in Newport Beach, California, only to find that he'd been demoted at his job as a government-relations executive for one of the state's largest real-estate developers. The two loves of his life - his longtime girlfriend and his career - had suddenly evaporated." "So Franz chose to continue the festivities. He grabbed his recently divorced brother, Kurt, and took off on his deluxe Costa Rican honeymoon. They canceled the honeymoon suite and flower arrangements, swapped champagne for beer, and promised not to carry each other over any thresholds." "During the trip, Franz realized that having his life turned upside down might not be such a bad thing after all." "He and Kurt decided to extend their honeymoon. Big time. They quit their jobs, sold their homes, gave away their clothes and furniture, discarded cell phones and pagers (Kurt used a nine iron on his), and continued the honeymoon for a couple of years through fifty-three countries in Eastern Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa." Honeymoon with My Brother is a book about the discoveries Franz and Kurt made during their two years on the road and how Franz exchanged heartbreak for a new view of himself and the world.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

This notable, upbeat memoir takes readers through an overwhelming romantic disaster to the author's eventual redemption and personal transformation. As the book opens, Wisner, then a v-p at a large corporation, arrives in a scenic California town to marry his fianc e. But she gets cold feet and decides to call the ceremony off, leaving Wisner "angry, embarrassed, overwhelmed, numbed and despondent." Compounding this personal crisis, Wisner is subsequently demoted by his company. So he chooses to go ahead with a mock wedding and honeymoon, sans bride, with his estranged younger brother filling in for her. The brothers visit 53 countries in two years, covering Russia, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and South America. Along the way, they see the sights and establish a new closeness and candor. Wisner's narrative style is occasionally comic, but he can be serious, too, especially with his descriptions of people and places, and with his telling analysis of the talks he and his brother engage in. The brothers' rekindled bond makes this memoir deeply moving. Agent, Kris Dahl. (Feb.) Forecast: An author tour and national broadcast and print publicity campaigns will support this book, which could appeal to fans of Sideways, the recent Alexander Payne film on a similar subject. In fact, Wisner's story is currently being adapted for film (Gold/Miller Productions at Sony/Columbia bought rights). Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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