Hiking Through by Paul Stutzman

Book Description

Publication Date: March 12, 2012

After Paul Stutzman lost his wife to breast cancer, he sensed a tug on his heart--the call to a challenge, the call to pursue a dream. Paul left his stable career, traveled to Georgia, and took his first steps on the Appalachian Trail. What he learned during the next four and a half months changed his life--and will change readers' lives as well.

In Hiking Through, readers will join Paul on his remarkable 2,176-mile hike through fourteen states in search of peace and a renewed sense of purpose, meeting fascinating and funny people along the way. They'll discover that every choice we make along the path has consequences for the journey and will come away with a new understanding of God's grace and guidance. Nature-lovers, armchair adventurers, and those grieving a loss may not be able to hike the AT themselves, but they can go on this spiritual pilgrimage with a truly humble and sympathetic guide.

My take on this book:

Paul Stutzman had always enjoyed hiking, and as a stress reliever he would often daydream about hiking the Appalachian Trail. So when after a four year battle with cancer he loses his beloved wife Mary. On the one year anniversary of her death he finds himself struggling with grief and loneliness, and after much consideration he decides to quit a job that he has held for over twenty years and pursue his dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail. 

Mr. Stutzman is a down to earth writer that immediately pulls you into his adventure.I found his back story interesting, and found his fascinating that he had Amish roots. As a nature lover the author's descriptive writing allows the reader to experience nature thru the eyes of the author.The pictures the author includes really adds to the visual aspect of the story. A story that reminds the path toward healing is taken one step at a time. Overall, a great book for anyone who is dealing with grief, Nature lovers and anyone who has ever thought about hiking the Appalachian Trail will also find this book hard to put down.

A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Available May 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.