Book Excerpt posted on my blog

Hi guys OK, I'm turning this beast loose on the world. Here is the first excerpt from my book. Hoping to get some traction as I begin to pursue a publisher. If you have time, give it a read and please share it with others if you like it, or think they may like it. I'll be posting a couple more excerpts in the coming weeks. This is possibly the most terrifying thing I have ever done, and I've done some stuff. Ha. Cheers. It is not a typical hiking book though. It is really about the experience, rather than the hiking. I look at the transformative effects of long-distance hiking, the people we encounter, how we may change the way we look at the world and interact with it as we hike. I have also interviewed some amazing people who were generous enough to share some of their story with me. It is also an examination of rites of passage, pilgrimage, and the therapeutic nature of hiking. I tell my own experiences, not a step by step, and how I experienced growth and transformation through hiking. It is also a tribute to my friend Jack Tarlin and what I hope is a compassionate, and sincere accounting of who he was at least in some small part. I try to tell his story as well, based on knowning him for 16 years that were not nearly enough. I hope to have a complete draft by September 15, 2019 marking the 20th anniversary of my AT hike.



https://encounterbasedlearning.wordp...ook-excerpt-1/

I liked the excerpt. I like that you shared your experiences including a brief personal autobiography summed up at the conclusion of your blog.

Some find wonder and much interest in the ever changing dynamic that is Nature - natural history, the trees, plants, geology, wildlife, streams,.. which includes people of the AT but not only the people. Without it I too would have found much of the AT bland or boring...a sometimes often reason given for quitting the AT experience. The AT is as the ATC states about experiencing the cultural heritage of Appalachia. That cultural community includes but is not limited to humanity.

Thanks Dogwood. I have posted a second excerpt where I talk about Jack to some length, you are spot on in reference to the "ever-changing dynamic" of nature. As hikers become a part of that dynamic, us being so small, it is very easy to get overwhelmed with its immenseness. I think it is the experience of walking, not the footpath itself, and communing with others in the natural setting that brings about the value of the journey.

cheers

TU for all the positive input and kind words. It's sorely needed and certainly personally appreciated. I didn't know what SY stood for until visiting your site. I've met you somewhere at a meeting or on trail. I didn't know you were the father of Peanut.

You knew Jack far longer than myself. Despite our shortcomings, which Jack also possessed, he loved hikers and the AT community. He was a cherished AT soul. He taught me more than ever to give back. He met people where they were. I'm avid to read further.

Were you at the Gathering for Jack's memorial? possibly camped out by Solace?

Missed it.... I would have welled up. Jack touched my soul. I felt a kindred soul in Jack.

Update: My book "In the Real World I Hike" is finally finished and available on Amazon.com
Attachment 48062

link is HERE

Many thanks in advance!

Update: My book "In the Real World I Hike" is finally finished and available on Amazon.com
Attachment 48062

link is HEREhttps://www.amazon.com/Real-World-Hi...0753980&sr=8-1