Forget picket fences. Live your best life. Sleep in the dirt.

In the spirit of classics like Rolf Potts’ Vagabonding and Alain de Botton’s The Art of Travel, The Dirtbag’s Guide to Life is an indispensable resource for building your own life of adventure.

Both a celebration of an under-appreciated subculture and a practical how-to guide, the book explains how to make adventure your lifestyle, drawing on the example of “dirtbags” - people who’ve organized their lives around outdoor pursuits like climbing, thru-hiking, trail running and surfing on the lowest possible budget.

Asserting that a life of adventure should be accessible to everyone, Mathis distills the real world experiences of hundreds of the the most dedicated dirtbags to identify and address the key challenges to building the type of life you want, whether you're a weekend warrior or a professional explorer:

• How to effectively manage your money to support your current aspirations while also planning for the future
• How to make your career support your passion rather than acting as a barrier to doing what you want
• Ways to incorporate important relationships into your journey
• What to do with responsibilities you’ve accumulated
• How to live intentionally and make your life meaningful through adventure
• ...and much more.

Whether you aspire to quit your job to travel the world, plan to hike the Appalachian Trail, or just want to fit in a bit more mountain biking on the weekends, The Dirtbag’s Guide to Life is an essential, inspiring, and consistently entertaining resource.