Spoiler Space for Rocky Start
For those of you who want to talk about Rocky Start, this space is for you. Do not read the comments if you don’t want the book spoiled. It’s no holds barred in there.
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Heather
(new)
Jul 26, 2024 05:14AM
I'm in the middle of it right now...
reply
|
flag
I loved Rocky Start. It kept me awake half the night until I finished it, and now I really want the next book. I'm going to try to leave a spoiler-less review.I identified with both main characters because I'm a woman of a certain age who likes to cook, and I walked 550 miles of the AT a few years ago. I was doing a Flip-Flop: start in the middle (Harpers Ferry, WV) and walk to one of the end points (Mt. Kahtahdin, ME for me,) then go back to the middle and walk to the other end (Springer Mountain, GA.) Most people do the south to north hike, but I encountered a few who were hiking north to south.
On my AT journey, I met several career military men who had just retired and were walking the AT to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives. Many people on the AT were out there to work out life issues: recovery, broken marriages, career burn-out, other big turning points of their lives. And the men who had walked long distances (from Springer Mountain) WERE gaunt. They just couldn't eat enough and lost too much weight. OTOH, the women all looked like goddesses - they lost some weight, but apparently women's bodies get very efficient under that kind of stress. At least, that's what we told ourselves. (I lost 20 pounds in 9 weeks.) Rose's lasagna would have been the best thing Max ever tasted, because trail food is not very good and he was slowly starving. I can't believe he could tear himself away from her dinner table, haha.
The AT is great therapy if you are strong enough to endure the physical challenges. I was intrigued by Max's way of walking the trail. Given his training, just walking *on* the trail was not enough of a challenge for him, and he needed the off-trail version to accommodate his mental issues.
Hiking the AT was the hardest thing I've ever done, and one of the most rewarding. So I wish Max well on his southbound trip, and I hope he pounds his demons into the unforgiving, rocky trail of the AT and eventually turns his boots back home to Rose. And I hope we get some more adventures, mysteries, and romance in the books to come before he leaves his boots on Rose's porch for good.
