The ride of her life: the true story of a woman, her horse, and their last-chance journey across America
Author:
Publisher:
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Pub. Date:
[2021]
Language:
English
Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The triumphant 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
“The gift Elizabeth Letts has is that she makes you feel you are the one taking this trip. This is a book we can enjoy always but especially need now.”—Elizabeth Berg, author of The Story of Arthur Truluv
In 1954, sixty-three-year-old Maine farmer Annie Wilkins embarked on an impossible journey. She had no money and no family, she had just lost her farm, and her doctor had given her only two years to live. But Annie wanted to see the Pacific Ocean before she died. She ignored her doctor’s advice to move into the county charity home. Instead, she bought a cast-off brown gelding named Tarzan, donned men’s dungarees, and headed south in mid-November, hoping to beat the snow. Annie had little idea what to expect beyond her rural crossroads; she didn’t even have a map. But she did have her ex-racehorse, her faithful mutt, and her own unfailing belief that Americans would treat a stranger with kindness.
Annie, Tarzan, and her dog, Depeche Toi, rode straight into a world transformed by the rapid construction of modern highways. Between 1954 and 1956, the three travelers pushed through blizzards, forded rivers, climbed mountains, and clung to the narrow shoulder as cars whipped by them at terrifying speeds. Annie rode more than four thousand miles, through America’s big cities and small towns. Along the way, she met 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. In a decade when car ownership nearly tripled, when television’s influence was expanding fast, when homeowners began locking their doors, Annie and her four-footed companions inspired an outpouring of neighborliness in a rapidly changing world.
“The gift Elizabeth Letts has is that she makes you feel you are the one taking this trip. This is a book we can enjoy always but especially need now.”—Elizabeth Berg, author of The Story of Arthur Truluv
In 1954, sixty-three-year-old Maine farmer Annie Wilkins embarked on an impossible journey. She had no money and no family, she had just lost her farm, and her doctor had given her only two years to live. But Annie wanted to see the Pacific Ocean before she died. She ignored her doctor’s advice to move into the county charity home. Instead, she bought a cast-off brown gelding named Tarzan, donned men’s dungarees, and headed south in mid-November, hoping to beat the snow. Annie had little idea what to expect beyond her rural crossroads; she didn’t even have a map. But she did have her ex-racehorse, her faithful mutt, and her own unfailing belief that Americans would treat a stranger with kindness.
Annie, Tarzan, and her dog, Depeche Toi, rode straight into a world transformed by the rapid construction of modern highways. Between 1954 and 1956, the three travelers pushed through blizzards, forded rivers, climbed mountains, and clung to the narrow shoulder as cars whipped by them at terrifying speeds. Annie rode more than four thousand miles, through America’s big cities and small towns. Along the way, she met 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. In a decade when car ownership nearly tripled, when television’s influence was expanding fast, when homeowners began locking their doors, Annie and her four-footed companions inspired an outpouring of neighborliness in a rapidly changing world.
More Details
ISBN:
9780525619321
9781648383397
9780593414064
9781648383397
9780593414064
Staff View
Grouping Information
| Grouped Work ID | f2a20631-f780-c4d8-cc84-cec010114111 |
|---|---|
| Grouping Title | ride of her life the true story of a woman her horse and their last chance journey across america |
| Grouping Author | elizabeth letts |
| Grouping Category | book |
| Grouping Language | English (eng) |
| Last Grouping Update | 2023-09-25 10:59:08AM |
| Last Indexed | 2023-09-25 11:00:19AM |
Solr Fields
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0
accelerated_reader_reading_level
0
author
Letts, Elizabeth
author_display
Letts, Elizabeth
available_at_mellen
Mellen Legion Memorial Library
detailed_location_mellen
Mellen Adult Nonfiction
display_description
"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"--
format_category_mellen
Books
format_mellen
Book
Large Print
Large Print
id
f2a20631-f780-c4d8-cc84-cec010114111
isbn
9780525619321
9780593414064
9781648383397
9780593414064
9781648383397
itype_mellen
BOOK - HARDCOVER
LARGE PRINT BOOK
LARGE PRINT BOOK
last_indexed
2023-09-25T16:00:19.290Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Non Fiction
literary_form_full
Non Fiction
local_callnumber_mellen
LP 636.1 LET pb
owning_library_mellen
Mellen Legion Memorial Library
owning_location_mellen
Mellen Legion Memorial Library
primary_isbn
9780525619321
publishDate
2021
publisher
Ballantine Books
Random House Large Print
Random House Large Print
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Biographies
Horsemen and horsewomen -- Travel -- United States -- Biography
Large print books
Overland journeys to the Pacific
Travel with horses -- United States
Travel writing
Wilkins, Mesannie -- Travel
Horsemen and horsewomen -- Travel -- United States -- Biography
Large print books
Overland journeys to the Pacific
Travel with horses -- United States
Travel writing
Wilkins, Mesannie -- Travel
title_display
The ride of her life : the true story of a woman, her horse, and their last-chance journey across America
title_full
The ride of her life : the true story of a woman, her horse, and their last-chance journey across America / Elizabeth Letts
title_short
The ride of her life
title_sub
the true story of a woman, her horse, and their last-chance journey across America
topic_facet
Horsemen and horsewomen
Overland journeys to the Pacific
Travel
Travel with horses
Wilkins, Mesannie
Overland journeys to the Pacific
Travel
Travel with horses
Wilkins, Mesannie
Solr Details Tables
item_details
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| ils:.b20942448 | .i34295690 | Ashland Adult Nonfiction | 636.1 LET | 1 | false | false | Available | Apr 20, 2023 | asanf | ||||
| ils:.b20942448 | .i34782485 | Sayner Adult Nonfiction | 636.1 LET | 1 | false | false | Available | Nov 17, 2022 | saanf | ||||
| ils:.b20942448 | .i34288636 | Hayward Adult And Young Adult Nonfiction | 636.1 LET | 1 | false | false | Available | Jul 24, 2023 | haanf | ||||
| ils:.b20967305 | .i34548555 | Mellen Adult Nonfiction | LP 636.1 LET pb | 1 | false | false | Available | Sep 12, 2022 | meanf | ||||
| ils:.b20967305 | .i34363464 | Lac Courte Oreilles Large Print Nonfiction | LP 636.1 LET | 1 | false | false | Available | Sep 12, 2022 | lclpn |
record_details
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ils:.b20942448 | Book | Books | First edition | English | Ballantine Books | [2021] | xii, 319 pages : map ; 25 cm | |
| ils:.b20967305 | Large Print | Books | First large print edition | English | Random House Large Print | [2021] | xii, 491 pages (large print) : maps ; 24 cm |
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