I romanticize travel. The heavy price tags, long lines and often unsavory seatmates are trumped by a sense of adventure and new discoveries. I especially romanticize airports, a sentiment that’s portrayed in movies and books time and again.

I truly believe airports stand outside time and place even though that is a huge part of what they deal in. People from different cultures and cities collide and remain in their own bubble. In a state of limbo, everyone is waiting to reach a destination without really knowing what will be waiting for them once they reach there.

Without fail, I enjoy browsing tacky trinkets, meaningless magazines and stands of junk food before boarding a flight. This time around, on my way to Jamaica for the first time, I forgot to pack a book – an essential for any beach vacation. At the very last minute, I decided to buy one. Thankfully one kiosk made the decision of which book by organizing the selection in international bestseller rankings. I picked #1 without a second thought: Adultery by Paul Coelho.

Coelho manages to delve into the deepest desires of a human’s soul

Ironically, I was heading to a couples-only resort with my husband.

A tumultuous tale of a wife and mother coming to grips with the monotony of her marriage, it depicts her life as it spins out of control after she begins an emotional and physical affair with her childhood crush. An incredible story, it was her ultimate revelation at the end that created an everlasting connection with this mad woman. Because at many points throughout the novel, she was mad. And I don’t mean that in a demeaning way.

A person doesn’t have to be in a bad marriage or even married to relate to the struggle she goes through and the conclusions she comes to. Coelho manages to delve into the deepest desires of a human’s soul through the topic of infidelity. These desires are without a doubt echoed in different ways for different people. The author simply invites the reader to acknowledge them through this particular experience and perhaps walk away with a stronger sense of self and purpose.