"My Holiday in North Korea: The Funniest / Worst Place on Earth” by Wendy E. Simmons: You remember “Eat, Love, Pray” and “Under the Tuscan Sun”? Yeah, this really isn’t like those. It’s better."
-Spud Hilton, Travel Editor, San Francisco Chronicle
"...funny, witty, and fascinating.... Did I expect NoKo officials trying to pitch what a great and amazing country that they live in? Of course, but the beauty of this book is that with Wendy’s brilliant sense of humor and sarcasm, we know it’s all lies and a facade.... if you have a weird fascination of North Korea and need a little laughter and raw utter truth as to what it is like vacationing there then I urge you to go read this book."
—San Francisco Book Review
"…an irresistible read…. Simmons presents a rare and fascinating look at the tourist's North Korea in a work that is humorous, appalling, and very sad. A highly recommended and revealing glimpse into a secretive land."
—Library Journal
"Writer and photographer Wendy Simmons shares a personal account of her vacation to one of the most reclusive nations on the planet, North Korea. During her journey she finds herself caught between an international crisis sparked by the release of the Sony Pictures film The Interview and accidentally crashing the ‘wedding’ of a North Korean bride to be."
—Gabriel Sanchez, BuzzFeed
"I enjoy travel, and humor and this gem has both. Author has hysterical POV and wit. Fun read."
—Dean Cain, American Actor
"Wendy E. Simmons is a world traveler. Not a novice. Not a pushover. Her trip to North Korea challenged every bit of her perceptions of herself and other people. Captured in her recent memoir, My Holiday in North Korea, the Funniest/Worst Place on Earth, Wendy tells the strange, sad, and funny tale of her 10 days as a solo traveler there (if that’s what you call having two minders, a driver, and never being alone except in her hotel room)."
—Suzanne M. Lang, NPR San Francisco
"A death-defying adventure, filled with despair and tiny pieces of hope, and beautiful — I wish I was as brave as Wendy."
—James Altucher, Bestselling author, entrepreneur, podcaster
"Wendy Simmons gives a glimpse into NoKo in this humorous and entertaining book. Through her eyes we see the sometimes absurd, yet always aching existence of a country under the thumb of oppressive rule."
—Myles Kennedy, Singer/Songwriter Alter Bridge/Slash & The Conspirators
"Wendy Simmons traveled to a place few of us will ever go and found herself in the ultimate Potemkin Village. Her intrepid desire to discover the reality behind the stagecraft escorts the reader through My Holiday in North Korea with words and pictures that render this mysterious country both knowable and unknowable, and always fascinating. Simmons’ insightful and funny storytelling evocatively captures the deception, corruption, humor and, ultimately, anguished humanity of a bizarre nation. It’s a wild trip."
— Jon Reiner, James Beard Award-winning author of The Man Who Couldn’t Eat