THE ILLOGICAL ADVENTURE

A chance encounter in a Cape Town bar sparks a globe-trotting romantic adventure in MacDuff and Mweemba’s memoir.

When he first met Zambian woman Mirriam Mweemba in South Africa in the spring of 2018, James MacDuff, a Canadian lawyer and world traveler, was readying to fly home after completing a grueling sailing voyage across the southern Atlantic. Mweemba had just said farewell to her restaurant co-workers as she prepared to start a new job crewing on a Mediterranean cruise ship; had her taxi been on time, they might never have met. Yet over that evening and the following day, something clicked, and they agreed to stay in touch. Over the next year and a half, through texts and video calls, they arranged brief rendezvous in Venice, Zurich, Mombasa, and Barcelona, navigating daunting logistics and sudden changes of plan. Both adventurous travelers, they weren’t fazed by mere distance, but there were other obstacles: Both had disappointing previous relationships; Mweemba was a faithful Seventh Day Adventist while MacDuff was agnostic; finally, he was approaching 40, unsure if he’d ever be ready to stop traveling and settle down, while she wanted children. Mweemba’s African cultural traditions included negotiating a bride price, which disconcerted MacDuff, and the visa application process was complex and slow. But even when Covid-19 shut down almost all international travel, the intrepid pair persevered. Here, they take turns telling their stories, describing their very different backgrounds and their continuing efforts to find a way to build a life together. MacDuff’s writing is thoughtful and lyrical, blending philosophical musings such as “Hope may not be a plan, but the best laid ones still need a healthy dose of it” with striking descriptions of places and people. An outlandishly dressed man on a beach is “like a glitch in the Matrix”; when the couple reunites, Mweemba’s smile is “as blinding as the sun sparkling off the water.” Mweemba’s independence, determination, faith, and sense of humor shine through in her affectionate, down-to-earth voice. This account of their remarkable four-year journey is a captivating blend of travelogue, self-discovery, and romance.

A charming joint memoir of navigating continents, cultures, and Covid-19 for love.