Hi, I’m Zefan — and this is Very Lost.

Very Lost started after an unexpected layoff from Amazon. I had just moved to a new city, and instead of scrambling to rebuild, I left. Within two weeks, I was on a one-way flight to South America — a decision that turned into a nearly two-year sabbatical across four continents and 25 countries.

What began as an escape became a long, unspooling question about what I want from life, work, and home.

Now, Very Lost is both about travel itself (I’m still addicted to it!), as well as what happens after. Things like feeling out of place in the places you’re supposed to belong, or trying to find meaning in new places.

Each month, I share a personal essay about travel, identity, or the emotional aftermath of wandering.

Some of my most popular essays have been:

• Courage Without Fear — how an unfortunate trek in the Himalayas helped redefine my ideas of bravery

• Victory to the Masses — on my ancestral homeland and the values I take with me

• Ayahuasca — my attempts at enlightenment in the Amazon rainforest, and what I got instead

  I initially started this newsletter as a way to share my most awkward thoughts with friends and family, and since then the Very Lost community has grown. So with that, here are the best reviews of Very Lost that I’ve ever received:

See you in your inbox.

-Zefan