Just Passing By

One woman, one little orange campervan and a 12,000-kilometre road trip in search of peace.

Armed with a peace flag, Tibetan Buddhist blessings and an unwavering curiosity about the people she might meet, Caroline Latham set out alone from the UK on an extraordinary journey through Russia and the Caucasus. Avoiding capital cities and tourist routes, she sought out ordinary lives in places rarely seen beyond the headlines.

From the Buddhist republic of Kalmykia to the vast Russian steppes, the dangerous roads of the Caucasus and the mountains of Georgia, Caroline encounters strangers who offer directions, food, friendship, warnings and unexpected kindness. Years later, she returns to the region and walks across the border into wartime Ukraine.

Funny, candid and deeply spiritual, Just Passing By is an unconventional travel memoir about human connection, the stories we tell about unfamiliar places, and the belief that peace begins with how we choose to meet the world.