Just Keep Walking by Erin Soderberg Downing
Erin Soderberg Downing has published more than 75 books for kids and teens and her newest JUST KEEP WALKING will be a big hit with fans of Lake Superior and the Superior Hiking Trail.
Jo and her mom embark on a two-week 100-mile hike to fulfill a promise that Jo’s dad, now divorced and estranged from the family, made to her after hiking the route with her older brother. Jo has struggled to spend time alone since the day her father left. Determined to prove she’s not a quitter like her Dad, Jo convinces her mother (non-hiker, non-athletic, but completely supportive of her daughter’s quest) to hike the Superior Hiking Trail from Castle Danger to Lutsen. Along the way, they encounter many challenges – not the least of which include harrowing climbs and descents, weather, boring food, water shortages, bears, and a few obnoxious hikers. They persevere through them all, and just when Jo thinks they might just make it, her mother falls and injures her ankle. Fortunately, they’d run into an old friend of her mother’s along the way, and her friend’s partner, and the two women offer to let Jo continue hiking the route with them, while her mother leaves the trail to seek treatment for her injury. It is a disappointing turn of events, but Jo agrees to hike the trail with them to finish her quest. JUST KEEP WALKING is the story of healing and the restorative power of the wilderness. Ultimately, Jo finds that she has within her the strength to accomplish hard things, overcome obstacles, and forgive.
The book was the result of years of research, ultimately leading the author to embark upon the same trail with her teenage son. Photos at the end of the book from the author’s hike add visual reference points for things like backpacks, latrines, scat, water filters, SHT blazes, and more. Soderberg Downing encourages readers to visit the SHT website for more information. She will be donating 10% of book sales to the Superior Hiking Trail Association. Highly recommended for hikers of all ages.
This is Lin Salisbury with Superior Reviews. Listen to all my author interviews and read my book reviews at superiorreads.com and on WTIP Radio 90.7 Grand Marais.
