Detroit woman who's visited every country on Earth to share her story in Grosse Pointe

Everyone wants to meet Jessica Nabongo.

Why? Because the 40-year-old author and globetrotter is the first Black woman to travel to every country on Earth. Her book, ‘The Catch Me If You Can: One Woman’s Journey to Every Country in the World,’ was published by National Geographic in 2022 and was an instant bestseller.

And she chooses to call Detroit home.

Nabongo is speaking about her travels Thursday at Grosse Pointe Farms’ Brownell Middle School auditorium, from 6-7 p.m. The appearance was initially set to be held at Grosse Pointe Public Library’s Ewald Branch, but an overwhelming demand for tickets forced a change to a larger venue.

Named one of the 50 Most Notable People in Travel by Travel and Leisure in 2021, she has been featured in prominent media outlets such as BBC, CNN, The New York Times, Forbes and others. In 2019, Conde Nast Traveler named Nabongo one of the 30 Most Powerful Women in Travel.

“I take so much pride in living in Detroit,” she told the Free Press during downtime at home. “People are like, ‘… Oh. You live in Detroit?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah!’ I don’t always take the time to explain because — look, I’ve been to every country in the world. I’ve lived in four countries outside the United States. I’ve lived in D.C., New York, Detroit … I’ve done life well and all over the place, and I still choose Detroit. To me, that says a lot about the city, you know?”

The origins of wanderlust

Born in Detroit to Ugandan parents, Nabongo was raised in Detroit with what she calls “a very stereotypical American upbringing.”

“We even literally had a white picket fence,” she recalled with a laugh. “I did ballet, tap, played the piano, played the clarinet, softball, tennis, basketball. Speed reading and pre-engineering classes and swimming classes … but vacations were always part of that.”

She began traveling internationally with her family at age 4.

“The first country I visited was Canada,” she said, “but after that, I went to the U.K. and to Uganda for the first time when I was 6. My dad was a chemist, my mom retired as a registered nurse. My parents love to travel, and sometimes they didn’t take us — sometimes they went to the Bahamas with their friends and left us at home. But travel was so inherently a part of my childhood. Every summer we went somewhere, even if it was a domestic road trip or camping in the U.S., or in Jamaica or Mexico."

During the early days of social media, circa 2009, Nabongo started a blog titled The Catch Me If You Can. She moved to and from Japan, then to England to complete her master’s at the London School of Economics, then to rural Benin, in west Africa, for six months. Then came a United Nations job that put her in Rome for three years; that role transitioned into remote work, so she traveled throughout South America while working.

“In 2014,” she said, “I moved back to the U.S. I was working at a consulting firm in D.C. I did that for a year, and I hated it and I quit, and I’ve never worked for anyone since then. I had always wanted to visit every country in the world, since my early 20s. I thought I’d finish by the time I was 40 or 50, but in 2017, I was in country number 60, and I decided that I wanted to finish visiting every country in the world by the time I was 35.”

Being a vessel

As of 2024, Nabongo has visited 195 countries and 16 territories, many of them more than once — including Antarctica, which she wants to see again because — get this — it wasn’t cold enough for her liking.

“It was incredible,” she recounted. “I’ve seen a lot of things, but it’s just incredible. It’s largely untouched by humans. Just to see all the wildlife — thousands and thousands of penguins and whales, seals, walruses. … And then the icebergs. It was magical. The only thing is, I wish I’d gone in November. It was February, which is late summer there, so the temperatures are hovering around freezing and slightly above, meaning a lot has melted. So it wasn’t as white as I wanted it to be. I want to go back, and I will go in November.”

Nabongo said traveling the world has made her realize she can open doors for others and be a conduit for discovery.

“I think I’m a vessel,” she said. “It hasn’t been super easy to travel (this much). In 2019, I think I did 66 countries. I did 170 flights that year; it wasn’t easy, right? People think it’s glamorous, somehow. I’m like, ‘No, there was a lot of crying!’ But I’ve stayed safe, and I’ve never had food poisoning or anything like that. I think I’m supposed to be doing this, but not for me. Other people see my story, they feel safe, they feel more confident. I was able to become a blueprint for many people.

“I’ve always been a storyteller. And it’s allowed me the opportunity to tell stories of people in countries that many will never visit. It’s allowed me to give an alternative narrative of a lot of countries that don’t exist in mainstream media. It’s allowed me to be a vessel.”

Bringing it home

One place she’s passionate about correcting mainstream media depictions is Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.

“I love Detroit,” she said. I think it’s a great city. My family’s here, and from a travel perspective, it’s well located. I’ve lived all over, but most recently was living in L.A. for two years, and I just moved back in November. L.A. is cool. … It’s just too far from everything. So, as someone who enjoys traveling and has to travel a lot for work, Detroit is perfectly located.

“I don’t want to live in New York. D.C. is appealing in many ways, but it’s nice that I can get most places on the East Coast in less than two hours, or fly in for the day then fly home. But, most of all, I just love my condo here and getting to look at the water and watch the sunrise over the Detroit River every day.”

Nabongo’s appearance Thursday will be at Brownell Middle School, 260 Chalfonte Ave., Grosse Pointe Farms. The auditorium entrance is in back of the school, off the parking lot. The Grosse Pointe Public Library is responsible for the presentation. There is no charge to attend the program, but registration is required. For more information and registration options, visit grossepointelibrary.org.

Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@freepress.com.