In life we are occasionally faced with detours. Some of them are thrust upon us just when we think we have life all figured out. Sometimes, however, they are self-created. We choose to take them, driven by some inner desire or passion. Author Jason Thiessen's extraordinary adventure was just such a detour-borne of the dreams of a young boy with only an atlas as his guide to an unseen world.

Nearly thirty years after those dreams began, they became a reality. Thiessen, a man with a wife, a career, and a mortgage, set out on a journey of discovery to find purpose and meaning while...

In life we are occasionally faced with detours. Some of them are thrust upon us just when we think we have life all figured out. Sometimes, however, they are self-created. We choose to take them, driven by some inner desire or passion. Author Jason Thiessen's extraordinary adventure was just such a detour-borne of the dreams of a young boy with only an atlas as his guide to an unseen world.

Nearly thirty years after those dreams began, they became a reality. Thiessen, a man with a wife, a career, and a mortgage, set out on a journey of discovery to find purpose and meaning while...

Forty-one-year-old Jason Thiessen was a recently unemployed husband and father of two young boys. During a time when he should have been acting responsibly and being realistic, he did what many thought was reckless and foolhardy. He traveled to Central America and made his way overland from Mexico City to Panama City, with virtually no plan.

Rather than succumb to the fears of others, he followed his heart and the wise guidance of his ever-supportive wife and took off on an adventure through one of the world's most dangerous, yet beautiful, and often overlooked geographies. He was...