Footprint of a Heart
Description
Imagine having your needs reduced to the things you can't live without; food, water, and shelter.
In Footprint of a Heart, Shayla Paradeis, whose trail name is Kiddo, ventures off the path of musical theater at age 21 and moves from Manhattan to Montana. Trading tap shoes for hiking boots, she sculpts a life outdoors as a long-distance hiker. By age 34, she walked over 18,000 miles between 4-month treks known as thru-hikes and thousands of joyful miles running across the land of her dreams, Glacier National Park. All without a smart phone.
Kiddo shares the trailside moments of five long journeys, including barren deserts, windy ridges above tree line, ocean tides in estuaries, narrow spaces between the painted lines of highways and guardrails, and countless peaks, passes, meadows, and valleys. Her ventures take her through swarms of bugs, knee-deep mud, every kind of precipitation imaginable, and the threat of rattlesnakes, bears, charging bulls, and one angry mama turkey.
It's the unmeasurable that truly makes it special. As her journeys transpire, she learns that counting miles can be as toxic as expectations around body-image or money. The need to connect is the true north. With an openness taught through the trees, she experiences a fulfillment she never dreamed possible. Trails are no longer a thing to do, they're a place to be.
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Reviews
"Shayla's stories are an invitation to experience a variety of trails in a way that reminds us how we thrive in the wilderness. Part poetic ode to the outdoors, part personal reflection, the words on the pages transport you away from the shackles of concrete and congestion; it's the next best thing to stepping out there yourself. Furthermore, Shayla has a tenderness about her, making you want to schedule an afternoon tea with her to talk about anything and everything." - Patrice LaVinge, of Backpacker Magazine, Author of Between Each Step
"It takes courage to walk across the country five times. And outrageous faith to tell the truth about it. Shayla has exposed her raw soul in Footprint of a Heart." - Jennifer Pharr Davis, acclaimed author and the first woman to break the overall FKT record of the Appalachian Trail
"I love-love-love Footprint of a Heart and recommend it for everyone who needs a vacation from our crazy-busy lives -- without leaving home! Reading any section of Shayla Paradeis' intimate insights about Hiking and Life is (almost) as good as being there yourself. Her honest explorations let readers see and feel the world through her eyes and heart via word-picture footprints that find new pathways on well-trod trails. While her lyrical storytelling carries us forward, the trail maps and hand-drawn images ground us visually. If you can't go on outer journeys like those Shayla has walked, take these inner journeys with her whenever you can, for the good of your soul." - Barbara Schiffman, book coach and author, LiteraSee.com
"Footprint of a Heart, like any good journey, isn't about the destination. It's about a woman's life as she invites us along to put one foot in front of the other." - Kathy Dunnehofe, National Bestselling author of The Do-Over
"Words are powerful. Shayla (Kiddo) has a way with words that stirs the soul and leaves an imprint that strengthens, sustains, and embarks on your heart." - Neville Harris, Appalachian Trail supporter and owner of Woods Hole Hostel
