Neala McCarten has led a life marked by detours, starting one place, and ending up somewhere unexpected. Born in New York City in 1947 and raised in Queens, Neala received a BA in Psychology and then a MA in Psychology from Queens College, eventually obtaining a Ph.D. in Psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.For the next few years, she wandered through a series of jobs, including that of mother and freelance writer on health and child development. But when her husband died suddenly she needed to reinvent herself and her life.Asking, "Who would I be if I didn't know who I am?", she finally decided that she was, at heart, a travel writer who lived in Albuquerque, New… Mexico. In 2006 Neala quit her job, sold her house in the suburbs, said goodbye to friends and family, and headed to the Land of Enchantment. In 2012 she married James McCarten.Today, Neala (Schwartzberg) McCarten is the publisher and editor of OffbeatTravel.com, a freelance writer, and a fine art photographer who regularly exhibits in shows in Albuquerque. Offbeat New Mexico: Places of Unexpected History, Art, and Culture is her first book, dedicated to the state she loves. Perhaps other books will follow. One never knows with life.