Award winning-journalist and former editor-in-chief of UK Glamour Deborah Joseph on how a solo adventure led to her quitting her high-octane job at 50.

‘Solo travel gave me the courage to tell Anna Wintour I’d had enough’ 

Some women seek therapy when at a crossroads in their life, others have a Tarot reading or opt for a dramatic haircut. Me? I travel. Short-haul, long-haul, far-flung. It doesn’t matter. Being away from my every day and seeking new adventures abroad helps me to reassess and view my life from a new perspective.

And this was how I found myself in the magical kingdom of Bhutan, three days before my 50th birthday. 

I was the editor of Glamour magazine at the time and after seven incredible years in the job of my dreams, I was feeling the stirrings of change. But who walks away from a job they’ve worked towards for 25 years?

I knew I needed a reset – some time out to think. And where better than the magical kingdom of Bhutan, with my best childhood friend – also an intrepid traveller. It has been on my bucket list since a colleague told me about it 15 years earlier.

On the last day, we hiked for three hours to reach The Tiger’s Nest, a sacred monastery perched on the edge of a cliff, 3,120 metres above sea level. According to tradition, it’s where an 8th century Buddhist master flew to on the back of a tiger, to meditate.

I’m not Buddhist, but the spirituality, the hypnotic smell of incense, the mysticism, all affected me profoundly. I looked out for miles across the stunning Paro valley and thought, There’s a whole world out there. It’s time to explore what life could look like on the other side. It was very much my moment of, ‘You have two lives, the second begins when you realise you only have one’. (Confuscius)

I arrived back in the UK at 10am the next morning, I’d resigned on Zoom to my then boss, Anna Wintour by 3.30 pm. 

Now, a year and a half later, I can tell you it was the best life decision. My first full year off in 30 years of working (apart from the maternity leave I took off for my three children, now aged 15, 13 and 11, which don’t count!).

In this year, I have read 70 books as part of being a judge for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, I have travelled to Vietnam and Antigua with my family. I’ve been on a solo health and mind reset at The Palace Merano in Italy, and I’m halfway through writing my first book. I have been around fully, for my children, for the first time, since they were born.
It’s not the first time travel has played a role in pivotal moments in my life. Aged 27, I took a three-month sabbatical from my job, put on a backpack and travelled solo around Thailand and India for three months, staying in hostels and small shacks on the beach. 

I was single, my friends were starting to settle down and getting married, some were having kids, but I had wanderlust. I’d never taken a gap year, as I started work the day after I left university. It was something I felt I’d missed out on. When my boss said I could have unpaid leave, I dived headfirst into new experiences and cultures that only travel could bring me.

Those three months were, and still are, among the happiest times of my life – I was carefree, pushed out of my comfort zone (travelling alone taught me to be able to walk into any room and start a conversation with a stranger), made life-long friends who I still go to visit in India, and it instilled in me a deep love for Asia, which I carry with me to this day – hence my dream trip to Bhutan. I have been back to Thailand seven times since, but more in search of luxury and especially fell in love with Hua Hin, a laid-back, elegant, sea-side town, a two-hour drive from Bangkok. It was the first place I holidayed with my now husband 20 years ago – and we returned later as a family. It has an eclectic night market, a characterful Monkey Temple (a sacred site that is literally surrounded by hundreds of monkeys), and the breathtaking Pa La-U Waterfall Pa La-U Waterfall in Kaeng Krachan National Park. 

It’s no coincidence that in difficult times — and especially through lockdown — these holidays are the moments I’ve returned to in my mind: the magical travel experiences I’ve had alone, or with a female friend, or my family – that have stitched such depth, colour and texture into the fabric of my life.

They weren’t just holidays. They became tiny lighthouses I’ve looked back to when I’ve needed to make a decision, change direction, or remind myself who I am, when the noise of everyday life gets too loud.