About Jeffji’s Big World

Hi, I’m Jeff (aka “Jeffji”) Greenwald. Though I’m best known as a travel writer (Shopping for Buddhas, and books listed below), my posts also focus on science, the arts, and my unexpected new travel partner: Parkinson’s Disease.

A bit about my background. During the past 45 years I’ve traveled across North America and around the world, interviewing remarkable men and women and reporting on the dreams they are pursuing — from Buzz Aldrin’s concept for a lunar spaceflight lottery (Salon) to the victories of Disabled rights activist Judith Heumann; from Black Panther founder Bobby Seale and his “Ten Point Program” for liberation (Smithsonian) to blind astronomer Kent Cullers’ view of the galaxy (The New York Times Magazine).

My personal journeys have taken me on a land and sea circumnavigation of our planet (no airplanes!) for The Size of the World (1995) and to the stage sets of the Star Trek universe for Future Perfect: How Star Trek Conquered Planet Earth (1999). More recently, my attraction to “letting go of stuff, keeping our stories” inspired my 2022 book 108 Beloved Objects.

My goal here on Substack is to bring you along on some of my travels, share some remarkable stories (some of which I’ll read out loud), and delve with serious levity into the challenges and revelations that spring from navigating life with Parkinson’s.

The world is big, and it’s filled with brilliant people doing amazing things. Hop onto my magic carpet — I think we’re going to share some amazing adventures together.