Award-Winning Travel Memoir “Managing the Bucket List: The Journey Begins” Earns Literary Titan Gold Book Award
Carol McIlwain, PhD, has received the Literary Titan Gold Book Award for her nonfiction travel memoir, Managing the Bucket List: The Journey Begins, Volume I. The award recognizes authors who create informative, enlightening, and engaging works that transform complex subjects into accessible and compelling narratives.
Part travel memoir, part bucket-list guide, and part reflection on history, culture, nature, and geopolitics, McIlwain’s book invites readers to experience travel as more than sightseeing. Through her post-retirement “Travel Big Year,” she explores how visiting new places can expand a person’s understanding of the world and encourage greater respect for cultural differences.
The book documents an intensive year of travel through Portugal; Argentina and Chile’s Patagonia; Italy; Seattle, Washington; Switzerland; France; Australia; Alaska; Spain; Hungary; Slovakia; Austria; Germany; the Czech Republic; Costa Rica; and other destinations. Along the way, McIlwain encounters glaciers, cathedrals, rainforests, pilgrimage routes, historic cities, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, religious landmarks, and natural wonders.
Readers follow her experiences while also learning about the history, culture, political stability, and environmental challenges of the places she visits. Using a country assessment index, McIlwain evaluates the stability of each nation and connects her personal observations to broader issues involving international relations and geopolitics.
McIlwain did not initially intend to write a book. After her third major trip, however, she realized that the information and experiences she was collecting could benefit other readers.
“When I first started traveling, I didn’t envision a book, but by the third trip, Italy, I realized that the trips were very informative and I wanted to capture the information and experience,” McIlwain said. “I feel that my background adds a comprehensive lens that can help others better understand the world, its people, and its environment.”
Her professional background in engineering, program management, national security, and international relations informs the book’s analytical approach. Rather than simply listing destinations, she examines the historical and cultural forces that shaped them and considers what travelers can learn from engaging directly with unfamiliar places and people.
Among the most powerful moments in the book are McIlwain’s visits to glaciers in Patagonia and Alaska. Seeing how far Alaska’s Mendenhall Glacier had receded, along with similar changes in Patagonia, gave her a deeply personal perspective on climate change.
Literary Titan praised the book for its sincerity, intellectual curiosity, and ambitious scope. The review described it as a record of “a mind trying to make sense of the world by walking through it.” It also highlighted McIlwain’s ability to turn visits to places such as the Vatican, the Camino de Santiago, Patagonian glaciers, and Costa Rican rainforests into broader reflections on faith, persistence, stewardship, history, and human responsibility.
For readers who are unable to travel because of health, financial, family, or other limitations, the book offers a literary way to experience international destinations. Volume I is the beginning of a multiyear series that will continue McIlwain’s exploration of the world, its people, and its most remarkable natural and human achievements.
Managing the Bucket List: The Journey Begins, Volume I is available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Readers can purchase the award-winning book today and begin a literary journey across continents, cultures, historic landmarks, and natural wonders while discovering how thoughtful travel can deepen their understanding of the world. The book is physically available in bookstores across the country and some airport bookstores.
About the Author
Carol McIlwain, PhD, is an award-winning nonfiction author, lifelong learner, engineer, and retired Senior Executive of the United States Navy with thirty-nine years of service. She deployed as the Senior Advisor for Acquisition and Logistics in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and also supported Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn.
Dr. McIlwain holds degrees from Temple University, Pennsylvania State University, Salve Regina University, the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, and the University of Maryland, where she earned a doctorate in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a specialization in project management.
Her honors include two Joint Civilian Service Commendation Awards, two Global War on Terrorism Awards, a NATO Medal, the Naval Air Warfare Center Innovation Award for Program Management, and the Daniel S. McCauley Professional Achievement Award for Engineering. She has also published papers on mathematical modeling, maintenance and reliability, project management, and leadership.
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