In Stores January 2026
Available in Paperback, Ebook, and Audiobook
Perfect Unfolding
Seven Years of Life-Changing Solo Adventure, One Year That Broke Me Open
By Kristy Halvorsen
“You will be more in love with being alive when you finish this book. This story will hold you and entertain you all the way to a threshold, an opening, where fear can give way to your own wisdom, your own goodness, and your own wild heart.”
—Mer Monson, author and poet
For anyone who’s ever felt trapped, or waited for “someday” – Perfect Unfolding is proof you already have permission to live the life that’s calling.
In gratitude for the warmth and wisdom shared by the people of northern Labrador, ten percent of this book’s profits will be donated to support their communities.
Perfect Unfolding is a thought-provoking travel memoir about a woman who trades her dream home and fourteen-year firefighting career for the freedom and possibility of the open road.
Living off-grid in an Airstream, migrating with the seasons without a plan, Kristy discovers the most challenging wilderness isn’t outside her windows. It’s within. From exploring Arctic shores with an Indigenous guide to hiking the desert canyons of the American West, she navigates not just unmarked roads, but the unmapped territory of living on her own terms.
Perfect Unfolding weaves together three transformative journeys: adventures across breathtaking landscapes where survival awakens true resilience; a mother-daughter bond that transcends distance and past hurts; and an unexpected romance that challenges everything she thought she knew about love.
This raw and refreshingly honest story of self-discovery speaks to anyone who has felt the pull of something bigger—a life beyond expectation, beyond fear, beyond the safe and predictable. You’ll ride in the passenger seat as Kristy navigates the universal tension between following society’s script and surrendering to the unknown.
Perfect Unfolding is an invitation:
How far will you go to find the life that’s calling?
Kristy takes you on an exhilarating ride through her personal adventures with exceptional skill, bravery, love and common sense. Her message to me is that we all have what it takes to get through what life throws our way. This book should be on the required reading list for adults.
— J. Polk, retired public school teacher
Map
The book begins at Black Rock Mountain, Georgia.
This is the journey you will take with Kristy. Ready to set off together?
“An extraordinary story about an extraordinary woman on an extraordinary adventure. If you've ever wondered what it would be to live your life without fear (but with every other emotion under the sun at full mast), this book will call to something deep within your soul.”
— Michael Neill, best-selling author of The Inside-Out Revolution and Creating the Impossible
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Lac Manicouagan, Quebec
“Kristy’s new book, Perfect Unfolding, takes you with her on an exquisite journey. This eloquent and honest book ranges from musings and poetry to on-the-edge of your chair stories of Kristy’s travels to some of the most beautiful and remote places in North America. I came away feeling as if I had joined her in her wanderings and that the two of us had discovered important things about ourselves and each other. This book will stay with me for a long time.” —Maria Parker, CEO of Cruzbike, Inc. and volunteer Executive Director for 3000 Miles to a Cure
My Story
If “normal” is a way of being, I am not that. Back in 2017, I sold my house and almost everything I owned, and hit the road.
Without meaning to, I sent myself on a modern-day walkabout. I’ve migrated with the seasons while living off-grid in my 2002 Airstream trailer ever since.
My first career was mechanical engineering, but sitting at a desk was not my jam. So I followed a deeper calling and became a firefighter/paramedic, a role I enjoyed for fourteen years. I founded my mentoring and coaching practice in 2015. That started as a fun side gig, and grew into a full time passion. Then one day, I knew it was time to set out on a grand adventure. (Read the book to find out how that’s going!)
Since hitting the road, work and fun have intermingled. A common thread is helping people realize who they truly are and live their dreams without sacrificing happiness along the way. My word to describe this simple, fun, and beautiful way to live is “coddiwomple”—to live in wonder, embrace the unknown, and trust Life while waking up to the complete freedom available to us all.
As for writing, I’ve been telling stories for as long as I can remember. I was first published at fourteen in the local newspaper. My blog and monthly newsletter have been entertaining and touching readers for almost ten years. Online publications have featured my articles, essays, and life/travel tips. For several years, I’ve been a regular columnist for the Blue Beret magazine. Perfect Unfolding is my first book.
Kristy Halvorsen
Author
“Kristy lives a life that takes my breath away. Her honesty and openness to life in the moment are stunning. She will likely challenge everything you think about how life works” —Lorna Davis, TED speaker and former CEO
Hebron, Labrador
Sleeping Spot Near Vermillion Cliffs, Arizona
Upcoming Readings & Events
Saturday November 8th, 2025
11am-12:15pm with signing afterwards
The Toadstool Bookshop
12 Emerald St
Keene, NH 03431
(603) 352-8815
Meet the Author, Book Reading, and Q & A
What Happens When you Stop Waiting For Permission to Live?
November 15-16th
REI – Tallahassee
REI Tallahassee's Anniversary Celebration
Kristy will be at REI with books and 2026 Adventure Calendars.
Stop in to chat, get a signed copy of Perfect Unfolding, and enjoy the festivities!
Saturday November 22nd, 2025
1-3pm
My Favorite Books
Interactive discussion and exploration, Q & A, and book signing
Wednesday December 3rd, 2025
6:30pm
Midtown Reader and the Piebrary
Meet the Author, Book Reading, and Q & A
Wednesday January 21, 2026 - 6pm
REI
161 N Cattlemen Rd
Sarasota, FL 34243
Offical Launch Party, Book Reading, and Q & A
Join the celebration at REI Sarasota
Thursday, January 22, 2026 - 4pm
Selby Library
Jack J. Geldbart Auditorium
1331 First St.
Sarasota, FL 34236
(941) 861-1110
Perfect Unfolding: The Seven-Year Journey That Changed Everything
Through vivid storytelling and stunning landscapes, Kristy reveals how “coddiwompling” (traveling without a destination) became a masterclass in trusting life’s unfolding. You’ll hear about the people she’s met along her travels, and how they’ve each altered the hem and fit of her soul, and the moments that helped her realize that seeking nothing often brings everything
March 12, 2026
Patagonia Store
(470) 947-7432
124 Krog St NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
6:30-8pm
Meet the Author and Q & A
Patagonia will be hosting the event. More details to come!
March 2026
Virginia Highland Books
1034 N. Highland Avenue
Atlanta, GA 30306
Book Signing and Q & A
More details to come.
Early Reviews
This is a beautiful memoir of solo adventure and personal awakening. Through minimalist living and self-reliance, Kristy discovers a quieter kind of freedom rooted in emotional openness and trust. Perfect Unfolding is filled with poetic insight and wonder, and it will stay with me long after the last page.
Coddiwomple along with Kristy on this beautiful and surprising journey of life and love. It will make you question why we have all so readily, and mindlessly, adopted our modern consumer-laden lifestyles.
This story just might inspire you to be brave and follow your own tickles.
Perfect Unfolding is a fantastic read. Great insights into the life of a single woman going off-grid full time in an Airstream. But it’s more than just a travelogue. The author gets deeply personal about the journey of life, love and love lost. Never preachy or political, yet not shy about sensitive topics and real life issues. I really enjoyed the wandering and pondering nature of this book. Highly recommended.
Perfect Unfolding is a hell of a story and very compelling. This is what true living looks like. It cuts past all the spiritual nonsense and gets right to the heart of what living fully and being open to what’s possible really mean. There were moments when I laughed out loud, parts where I felt sadness, and times of pure hopefulness. It left me wanting more.
This book is about letting go of everything we know: free-falling into the wild, open freedom and inclusivity of being fully alive. I laughed, I cried, and I found myself aching to fully embrace the essence of coddiwompling in my everyday life.
With this book, Kristy invites you to join her and her friend Coddi on a deeply delightful adventure for the heart and soul. If I were you, I’d take her up on it!
I absolutely loved Perfect Unfolding. In fact, it might be the best book I’ve read in a long time, both as a reader and an editor. The flow is so engaging and creative, and I personally found so much wisdom in Kristy’s words and journey. I know this story is going to stick with me for a long time.
Kristy Halvorsen is one of those remarkable yet beautifully ordinary people who followed the tickles of her soul and went walkabout. Perfect Unfolding is a selfless expression of living authentically, expecting nothing in return, only to receive exactly what you were meant to.
I couldn’t put Perfect Unfolding down!!! It captivated me and when a book hooks you, like this one did, there’s no problem finding the time to devour it!!
In Kristy’s alluring writing we get swept up into her and her humanness and we don’t want to let her go. There aren’t many books we can say that about. Join the adventure, strap yourself in, and enjoy!
Labrador Sea
“I couldn’t put Perfect Unfolding down!!! It captivated me and when a book hooks you, like this one did, there’s no problem finding the time to devour it!!”
—Joy Belonga, Personal Coach
Labrador Sea