She peered into the steaming crater of Mt. Aetna, slid up an icy mountain in Bavaria, and was marched to a shabby police station in Tunisia. She also had some important decisions to make while she spent her junior year abroad as an exchange student at the University of Stirling in Scotland. Should she remain dependent on her noncommittal boyfriend or should she risk loneliness and abandon her dreams of their future? Should she focus on marriage, attend graduate school, or should she begin a career? What should she do with her life?

The rousing narrative in A Stirling Diary chronicles humorous encounters with Brit-speak, rollicking adventures in Europe and Africa, and the appreciation of and affection for the Scottish people. Shelley shares honest and occasionally raw descriptions of her struggles to adapt not only to various cultures but also to discover her own self-worth in the process.

A Stirling Diary is not just a fascinating travel journal; its also an inspiring personal story that illustrates the transformation of an insecure young girl to an empowered young woman who looks inward to survive betrayal and depression.