Valley native writes of his world travels in ‘Destination Diaries’

BROWNSVILLE — Edward Dramberger is back in Brownsville following a national tour to promote his new book, “The Destination Diaries: How to Travel for Life.”

Dramberger, a Brownsville native and tourism-industry consultant whose trade name is “Destination Dr.,” has traveled to 180 of the world’s 195 countries.

“Destination Diaries,” published May 1, is a collection of travel vignettes chronicling his “quest to quench an insatiable thirst for travel and the endless excavation for life’s meaning therein,” according to the book’s back cover blurb.

The tour took Dramberger to television and radio station studios in Austin, Boston, Los Angeles (where he was featured on “Good Morning L.A.) and several other major cities.

In Denver for a radio interview, the interviewer expressed interest in working with Dramberger on a television show.

“So there may be a travel TV show involved,” Dramberger said. “I’m hopeful for that.”

A final signing of his book is scheduled for Sept. 14 at the Producers Club in Times Square in New York — familiar territory for Dramberger, a former actor in off-Broadway productions.

In an interview with The Brownsville Herald in April, before he left for Eastern Europe in advance of the U.S. tour, Dramberger explained that travel — in addition to being his passion — has helped him deal with bipolar disorder, with which he was diagnosed during his days as a graduate student in Virginia. Dramberger discusses it in the book’s prologue: “Travel is the Best Medicine.”

BP Magazine, a publication for people with bipolar disorder, will feature Dramberger in an issue this fall. He’s also been published in Money Inc. and is working on a piece for the Washington Post.

In two weeks Dramberger will be back on a plane, this time bound for India, where he’ll speak at a tourism conference in Calcutta. Also this summer, he’s leading a Brownsville Catholic Diocese tour of Portugal and Spain.

How to find the book

Paperback copies of “Destination Diaries” can be ordered from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million and Dorrance Bookstore. It is also available as an e-book from Kindle, Nook and other popular e-platforms.