Walking Home

Name: Walking Home
ISBN: 9781578690534

by Celia Ryker

Publisher

Rootstock Publishing

Publication

Jun 22, 2021

Format

Paperback/Softback

Illustrated

Price

16.95

Dimensions

6 x 9 in

ISBN

9781578690534

Pages

238

Age

Adult 18+

Rights Sold

🌍 World Wide Rights Available

Description

Celia Ryker’s Walking Home: Trail Stories is about more than mud, sweat, and blisters while distance hiking the Long Trail. Reminiscent of Cheryl Strayed’s Wild, Ryker’s mind wanders as her legs carry her forward, beyond a woodland path, to places and people she thought she had forgotten. Her grandmother’s spirit appears on Mount Baker. A lost cousin waits for her at the bottom of every ladder. Her late father’s words reverberate among the calls of barred owls. There were days when she didn’t see another hiker, but she was never alone. Celia began writing about a difficult hike and ended up writing about the people who inspired her throughout her life. These are her “trail stories.”

Awards & Endorsements

Award

Gold Winner, 2022 Human Relations Indie Book Award, Travel

Silver Winner, 2022 Human Relations Indie Book Award, Motivational Memoir

Silver Winner, 2022 Human Relations Indie Book Award, Personal Determination

Review

“Reaching heights of 4,394 feet at Mount Mansfield, she describes the scenic beauty of the land while also providing practical guidance. Duct tape applied to her walking sticks served as hand grips when walking uphill. She notes the value of putting most of her gear in a sealed plastic pack liner and provides cautionary advice about hypothermia. A fascinating narrative.” —Jennifer Belton, former White House Library Director (1978-82)

“If you have ever wanted to become a hiker or a long-distance walker, there is no better way to begin your journey than by joining Celia in Walking Home." —Felicity Vaughan Swayze, author of War Torn: A Family Story

“Reading Walking Home, my astonishment that a woman who had never slept in a tent and had balance issues would undertake an almost 300-mile backpacking trek on one of the toughest trails in North America matured into something deeper: an appreciation that being in touch with nature helps us be in touch with ourselves. I think you’ll enjoy this book. It’s great.” —D.W. Allen, author of Dappled Psychiatric

Author(s)

Celia Ryker

Celia Ryker’s first career was training horses, teaching and campaigning students on southeast Michigan’s local hunter jumper circuit. After thirty years she went back to school and switched to gardening and landscape design. When she began distance hiking her husband said, “She got to H in the alphabet and stopped. She went from horses, to horticulture, to hiking.” Beyond all of those, she writes. She has been writing all of her life and is now an author. Her first book Walking Home is a memoir about hiking Vermont’s Long Trail. It is a series of short stories brought together by a difficult hike. Celia and her husband Don live between Vermont and Michigan with their border collie, Flurry. Visit her website, celiaryker.com.