I lived a shallow and meaningless life; until I met a brutally honest Russian online. She changed everything about the way I saw the world and my place in it. By effecting an elaborate escape to meet me in Kyiv, Elena loosed a bloody vendetta against us. Our only hope was crossing the planet underground, entirely on our own and unsupported. By refusing to put our fate in the hands of others, we managed to survive, stay together, and more than anything else, we learned to love and trust ourselves.

During this unthinkable, year-long run for our lives, I not only rescued the deer-in-the-headlights Russian who crashed into my life, but found and rescued myself.

This is a story about standing up for what you know is right for you. It is about accepting, trusting and loving yourself. It is a story of strength, of courage, of adventure, of taking responsibility and finding freedom.

This is that particular story, the one that went viral a few years back, about those two women who sailed across the world without knowing how, or having any right to land along the way. The very story NPR and then BBC picked up and sent around the world. That's the one, only this time, it's recounted by one of the participants in that zany run for their (our) lives.