CHEERS, BEERS, AND EASTERN PROMISE is a memoir by Gerry Abbey. It chronicles his year as a Fulbright scholar in Taiwan and is a thoughtful and hilarious coming-of-age-but-not-quite-arriving adventure travel story. Abbey goes to teach English in rural Taiwan and finds a world unlike anything he could have expected. From day one, the contrast between imagined and found reality leaves him lost and learning on the fly. His experience quickly snowballs as he goes from meeting coworkers and teaching classes to attending nightly dinners full of excess, missing meetings, singing karaoke far more than anyone ever should, crashing motorcycles, taking three months to learn xiexie (the Chinese word for thank you), visiting temples to ask for godly protection (and forgiveness), and ultimately hitting rock bottom on vacation in Thailand. In the rubble of it all, Abbey finally finds his fresh start, ready to tackle new obstacles on the way to learning lessons about life that he still carries with him a decade later. If you like learning, travel, or just having a good time, you'll love this enthralling and fast-paced book.