At first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to buy this book by Jean Deeds since her hike happened almost twenty years ago and I wanted to focus on more recent depictions of the trail, but I’m so glad I got it. I like reading the stories of other women, and although she was at a different place in her life than I am, there is still a lot to learn. She wasn’t really of retirement age but left her job any way, and once her hike was finished turned to writing and giving inspirational speeches as a new career. She seemed to have a hard time on the trail but really persevered. She broke her leg with just a month left to go, but returned to the trail the following year to finish it up, which really takes dedication. I found it interesting that this book is listed in the “Self Help” genre as opposed to a travelogue or something, but Deeds really does talk about what a great impact hiking the AT has had on her life and how it’s changed her for the better.
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