by Lynn Darling
First published 2014
Lynn Darling faces an empty nest and an empty life. Her daughter has left for college, and after more than a decade of widowhood, Darling realizes she has lost herself completely. She abandons her New York life for the isolation of Vermont's forests, armed only with a compass and accompanied by a new dog. In the wilderness, she teaches herself navigation while wrestling with deeper questions of direction and purpose. The unmarked trails become her classroom as she reflects on her past milestones and charts a path forward. When an unexpected crisis threatens to undo her progress, Darling must rely on the skills she has developed to maintain her course. Her journey through the woods becomes a journey toward rediscovering who she is beyond the roles of wife and mother.
Genres: nature, adult-fiction, memoir, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, self-discovery
Setting: Vermont
Period: 21st-century
304 pages · Kindle Edition · Harper