What am I meant to do with my life?

It’s a question every human being endeavoring to find their way in the world faces—a question that rages like an undying fire in the spirit and soul of writer Vincent Russell Van Patten.

It’s spring of 2022. Striving to answer this question, Vincent embarks on a bohemian adventure starting in Lisbon, Portugal, where he’ll work and live at a quirky youth hostel in the heart of the city. In Lisbon, the days are golden and the nights bring debauchery. What Vincent thinks he knows about himself and the world come into question as he encounters a colorful cast of characters who challenge his preconceived notions as an American abroad.

As spring gives way to summer, Vincent leaves for Isca, a village nestled in the seaside hills of southern Italy. In the arch of the Boot, he’ll work on the property of Sage, a philosophical Dutch expat, whose down-to-Earth lifestyle provides absurd challenges, profound beauty, and formative lessons regarding our relationship to the natural world.

When the Sky Opens and the Answers Shimmer paints a vivid picture of people and place, told with the sensitivity of a young man with an open heart that grapples with modern notions of friendship, success, meaning, and love. This coming-of-age story emboldens listeners to not just ask the question, but to go and live their answer, embarking, too, on the adventure of their lives.