num_pages: 392
description: A Smithsonian Top Ten Best Book About Travel of 2021 2022 Banff Mountain Book Competition Finalist An Apple Books Pick of the Month and a Powell's and The Story Exchange Best Book of Fall A gorgeous and revelatory blend of memoir travelogue and long-forgotten history.Abbott KahlerAnnabel Abbss Walking the Paths of Trailblazing Women is a beautifully written meditation on connecting with the outdoors through the simple act of walking. In captivating and elegant prose Abbs follows in the footsteps of women who boldly reclaimed wild landscapes for themselves including Georgia OKeeffe in the empty plains of Texas and New Mexico Nan Shepherd in the mountains of Scotland Gwen John following the French River Garonne Daphne du Maurier along the River Rhne and Simone de Beauvoirwho walked as much as twenty-five miles a day in a dress and espadrillesthrough the mountains and forests of France. Part historical inquiry and part memoir the stories of these writers and artists are laced together by moments in Abbs own life beginning with her poet father who raised her in the Welsh countryside as an experiment according to the principles of Rousseau. Abbs explores a forgotten legacy of moving on foot and discovers how it has helped women throughout history to find their voices to reimagine their lives and to break free from convention. As Abbs traces the paths of exceptional women she realizes that she too is walking away from her past and into a radically different future. Windswept crosses continents and centuries in a provocative and poignant account of the power of walking in nature.
language: English
title: Windswept: Walking the Paths of Trailblazing Women
publisher: Tin House Books