Synopses & Reviews
At twenty-eight years old, Krista Schlyer sold almost everything she owned and packed the rest of it in a station wagon bound for the American wild. Her two best friends joined herand#8212;one a grumpy, grieving introvert, the other a feisty dogand#8212;and together they sought out every national park, historic site, forest, and wilderness they could get to before their money ran out or their minds gave in.
The journey began as a desperate escape from urban isolation, heartbreak, and despair, but became an adventure beyond imagining. Chronicling their colorful escapade, Almost Anywhere explores the courage, cowardice, and heroics that live in all of us, as well as the life of nature and the nature of life.
This eloquent and accessible memoir is at once an immersion in the pain of losing someone particularly close and especially young and a healing journey of a broken life given over to the whimsy and humor of living on the road.
Almost Anywhere will appeal to outdoor lovers, armchair travelers, and anyone struggling to find a way forward in life.
Review
and#147;Outstanding, wry, heart-wrenching and healing. Those words describe Almost Anywhere, which hits the bulland#8217;s-eye as a cross between Wild and Letand#8217;s Pretend This Never Happened. Kristaand#8217;s unique voice will draw you in and take you on journey to the intersection of unfathomable grief and the healing power of wanderlust.and#8221; and#151;Michelle Theall, author of Teaching the Cat to Sit
Review
"Outstanding, wry, heart-wrenching and healing. Those words describe
Almost Anywhere, which hits the bulland#8217;s-eye as a cross between
Wild and
Letand#8217;s Pretend This Never Happened. Kristaand#8217;s unique voice will draw you in and take you on journey to the intersection of unfathomable grief and the healing power of wanderlust." and#151;Michelle Theall, author of
Teaching the Cat to Sit"Brave, beautiful, and utterly captivating, Almost Anywhere breaks your heart and puts it back together again on a long and often arduous road trip across an America, where the uncertain future is always just beyond the horizon and the immutable past rushes at you without remorse. Measuring the sharpness of loss against the hugeness of life, Krista Schlyer has found her way, page by page, to a rare state of grace. An amazing book." and#151;William Souder, On a Farther Shore: The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson
"This book is an American map. . . . If you want to feel a journey at skin level all the way to the heart, this is your route." and#151;Craig Childs, award-winning author of House of Rain
Synopsis
What do you do when your world ends?
At twenty-eight years old, Krista Schlyer sold almost everything she owned and packed the rest of it in a station wagon bound for the American wild. Her two best friends joined her--one a grumpy, grieving introvert, the other a feisty dog--and together they sought out every national park, historic site, forest, and wilderness they could get to before their money ran out or their minds gave in.
The journey began as a desperate escape from urban isolation, heartbreak, and despair, but became an adventure beyond imagining. Chronicling their colorful escapade, Almost Anywhere explores the courage, cowardice, and heroics that live in all of us, as well as the life of nature and the nature of life.
This eloquent and accessible memoir is at once an immersion in the pain of losing someone particularly close and especially young and a healing journey of a broken life given over to the whimsy and humor of living on the road.
About the Author
Krista Schlyer is a conservation photographer and writer. She is a senior fellow in the International League of Conservation Photographers and her work has been published by BBC, The Nature Conservancy, High Country News, The National Geographic Society, and Audubon. Schlyer is the author of two previous books including
Continental Divide, winner of the 2013 National Outdoor Book Award. She is also the 2014 recipient of the Sierra Cluband#8217;s Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography and the 2015 Vision Award from the North American Nature Photographers Association. She resides in the Washington, DC, metro area.