The Ride of Her Life

The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America

The Ride of Her Life
Elizabeth Letts
RRP:
NZ$ 70.00
Our Price:
NZ$ 56.00
Large Print Trade Paperback
h235 x 156mm - 435pg
1 Jun 2021 US
International import eta 7-19 days
9780593414064
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
The incredible true story of a woman who rode her horse across America in the 1950s, fulfilling her dying wish to see the Pacific Ocean, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Horse and The Eighty-Dollar Champion. In 1954, Annie Wilkins, a sixty-three-year-old farmer from Maine, embarked on an impossible journey. She had no relatives left, she' d lost her family farm to back taxes, and her doctor had just given her two years to live--but only if she "lived restfully. " He offered her a spot in the county' s charity home. Instead, she decided she wanted to see the Pacific Ocean just once before she died. She bought a cast-off brown gelding named Tarzan, donned men' s dungarees, loaded up her horse, and headed out from Maine in mid-November, hoping to beat the snow. She had no map, no GPS, no phone. But she had her ex-racehorse, her faithful mutt, and her own unfailing belief that Americans would treat a stranger with kindness. Between 1954 and 1956, Annie, Tarzan, and her dog, Depeche Toi, journeyed more than 4,000 miles, through America' s big cities and small towns, meeting ordinary people and celebrities--from Andrew Wyeth (who sketched Tarzan) to Art Linkletter and Groucho Marx. She received many offers--a permanent home at a riding stable in New Jersey, a job at a gas station in rural Kentucky, even a marriage proposal from a Wyoming rancher who loved animals as much as she did. As Annie trudged through blizzards, forded rivers, climbed mountains, and clung to the narrow shoulder as cars whipped by her at terrifying speeds, she captured the imagination of an apprehensive Cold War America. At a time when small towns were being bypassed by Eisenhower' s brand-new interstate highway system, and the reach and impact of television was just beginning to be understood, Annie and her four-footed companions inspired an outpouring of neighborliness in a rapidly changing world.
"This poignant, inspiring story is not just about a woman choosing to live instead of die but also about an America that no longer exists. Annie Wilkins will never leave your heart. Her determination and homespun common sense make her a heroine for the ages. And thanks to this remarkable book, she' ll never be forgotten again. "--Melanie Benjamin, author of The Children' s Blizzard"Elizabeth Letts once again hits it out of the park with this triumphant tale of Annie Wilkins, ' the last of the saddle tramps. ' A love story on so many levels--from the menagerie that was with her every step of the way, to the kindness of strangers who opened their homes to help Annie complete this ride of her life--this book will tear at your heartstrings from beginning to end. I loved it, and so will you!"--Robin Hutton, author of Sgt. Reckless: America' s War Horse"Annie Wilkins was an American original, and The Ride of Her Life gives her the tribute she deserves. Elizabeth Letts has created an indelible account of hope, loyalty, generosity, and sheer grit--and the power of a woman doing something just because she wants to do it. "--Matthew Goodman, author of Eighty Days"There is sly wisdom in Annie Wilkins' s simple journey: Keep faith in yourself and animals, trust in strangers, dismiss all the downers, and always live as if you just received a mortal diagnosis. Letts honors her subjects--Wilkins, 1950s America, and that moment when range gave way to road, and horse to car--with an author' s hand and a historian' s eye. "--Ken Ilgunas, author of Trespassing Across America"This engaging folk-hero biography, which follows Wilkins throughout her grand adventure, also touches on the cultural history of mid-twentieth-century America. As Letts delves into the postwar prosperity that transformed the U. S. into a land of cars and endless highways, she celebrates the dying tradition of the "American tramp or hobo" that Wilkins, the self-christened "last of the saddle tramps," represented. . . . A heartwarming and nostalgic book to appeal to horse lovers and fans of the author' s previous books. "--Kirkus Reviews "Elizabeth Letts' s gift has is that she makes you feel you are the one taking this trip: selecting your route from a gas station map, enduring awful weather and accidents, hearing the creak of the saddle and the roar of the trucks that pass you by. Best of all, you are the one who sees not a country divided and mean-spirited but rather one full of people eager to console, to care for, and to celebrate the spirit of a woman who would not give up. This is a book we can enjoy always but especially need now. "--Elizabeth Berg, author of The Story of Arthur Truluv
Elizabeth Letts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Eighty-Dollar Champion and The Perfect Horse, which won the PEN Award for Research Nonfiction, and most recently, of the novel Finding Dorothy, as well as two previous novels, Quality of Care and Family Planning. She lives in Southern California and Northern Michigan.
Status: Indent title, imported to order
ISBN-13: 9780593414064
Published: 1 Jun 2021
Published In: United States
Imprint: Random House Large Print
Publisher: Diversified Publishing
Format: Large Print Trade Paperback
Height: 235mm
Width: 156mm
Weight: 369g
Pages: 435

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