Praise for Author Ellie Dias' Debut Book, Big Red 

"Dias takes us along on her trip of a lifetime to the three kingdoms of the Himalayas: Bhutan, Nepal, and Tibet. What starts out as a serious, spiritual journey, soon dissolves into an often humorous struggle between her desire to live a simpler, happier life, and her strong attachment to her stuff. Throw in every travel nightmare you can imagine from lost luggage to missed flights and foreign bathrooms or lack thereof, and you have a book you might call Eat, Pray, Laugh.”

~ Faye Rapoport DesPres, author of Message from a Blue Jay.

“A sparkling kaleidoscope of the places and people in the Himalayas. A trip into the unknown and the soul.”

~ Mariam Kobras, award-winning author of the Stone Series

“Excess baggage comes in many forms, especially when Western OCD tendencies collide with Eastern philosophy. After plotting and planning the perfect trip of a lifetime, Ellie Dias finds things don’t always go as planned, sometimes they turn out better. Some trips aren’t just about the journey but about the lessons learned along the way.”

~ Deb Hathaway Hunter, author, former book wholesaler, and bookstore owner

“In Big Red, Ellie Dias embarks on a personal journey of enlightenment in Asia with a suitcase of exasperation, a touch of humor, and painful self-awareness. Along the way, we realize the path to transcendence is often more complicated than we thought.”

~ Linda Sienkiewicz, award-winning author of In the Context of Love

“With an innovative and creative mix of memoir and travelogue, Dias shares her journey of personal discovery. Big Red is an honest, funny, thoughtful, and thought-provoking look at the way we think, grow, learn, and embrace life. A fascinating exploration of a part of the world many of us have only imagined.”

~ Margot Kinberg, author of Publish or Perish, and B-Very Flat, and associate professor

“Light, frank, yet contemplative, this is a book that blossoms with its rich descriptions when read out loud with others. Big Red, the suitcase, challenges Ellie as she searches for simplicity. Their journey together will make you chuckle, groan in sympathy, howl with laughter, ponder with Ellie, and smile in delight.”

~Shireen Jeejeebhoy, author of Lifeliner: the Judy Taylor Story, Concussion is Brain Injury, She, and more. Jeejeebhoy has also worked as a blogger, photographer, and website designer.