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Ride of Her Life: The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America
Ride of Her Life: The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America | Elizabeth Letts
15 posts | 14 read | 14 to read
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, they 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.
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jdiehr
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Pickpick

My dad gave this to me for my birthday 😊

It took a few chapters for me to get into this true story, but it really is inspiring.

An older woman with failing health and a failing farm in Maine decides to get on her horse and ride across the country to California.

Her faithful dog accompanies her as they set out on the adventure of a lifetime.

Suet624 I‘m so glad to see someone is reading this book and hearing her story. I LOVED this book. (edited) 1d
jdiehr @Suet624 ❤️❤️❤️ 1d
17 likes2 comments
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TheSpineView
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#IdiomInsight @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs
#SwanSong

This is the true story of Annie Wilkins who at 63 and in bad health decides to ride from Maine to California. This is her swan story and she wants to end her life with a bang.

Eggs Love this 🐎❤️🦢 6mo
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Michael_Gee
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Letts uses research and historical details to tell this well-built story about Annie Wilkins, a woman in her 60s who in the mid 1950s decided to ride horseback from Maine to California. I was fascinated by Wilkins‘s remarkable, foolhardy, adventurous, hopeful journey, undertaken without money or planning. It is a wonderful thing that she was met with kindness and generosity along the way.

Michael_Gee I can‘t recommend the audiobook, however. Tavia Gilbert‘s overwrought delivery did a disservice to the bold, tough Annie Wilkins. 12mo
17 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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BoleyBooks
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Tackle the TBR 🤓📚
#boleybooks #Therideofherlife #elizabethletts #bookbeast #bookjoy #nonfiction #bookbuds
What are you reading? 😊

38 likes1 stack add
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margoge@hotmail.com
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Pickpick

LA fascinating true story set in 1954 of a woman who decides to travel to California from Maine on horseback. She's got almost no money, no map other than the ones from the service stations and only a little dig for company. She does have grit though and she will need every ounce of it to get to California and see the ocean.

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Adventures-of-a-French-Reader
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3.5/5 Interesting non-fiction about Annie Wilkins' journey across America in the 1950s. Elizabeth Letts sprinkles this book with trivia about the roads, the towns, and the American society.
A great achievement for a 60-year old woman to travel across America; Letts did a good job retracing her steps.
It felt repetitive sometimes though.

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Suet624
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Pickpick

Can you imagine being a 63 year old woman in 1955, being told you had a few years left to live, deciding to ride a horse and lead another with a dog along for the adventure, across the entire United States? Selling postcards for a dime to make money. Relying on your wits, on your horses, and the kindness of strangers. This was a great read and I‘m so glad to know Annie‘s story.

vivastory Just read the book description: Tarzan & Depeche. What names! 3y
Megabooks Stacking!! 3y
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Suet624
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Vermont comes in first again. #Vermont

Leftcoastzen My friend read that book recently & loved it. 3y
Suet624 @Leftcoastzen I needed an uplifting book and I find this one to be just what I needed. A fascinating story and a woman I could be great friends with. 3y
44 likes2 comments
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TheSpineView
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Pickpick

This is the true story of Annie Wilkins who, at age 63, rode across the country with just her horse Tarzan and dog Depeche Toi for company. A heart warming story full of interesting people and places. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Read my review on my blog at www.thespineview.com

TheSpineView #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks I forgot this I'd my #DoubleSpin book for July. Better late than never!😂 3y
TheAromaofBooks Yay!! This book is definitely on my TBR - I've really enjoyed two of Letts's other books that I've read, and this one sound so interesting! 3y
TheAromaofBooks Yes!!! I loved that one!! I also recently read her book about saving the Lipizzaner horses during WWII. I didn't enjoy it as much because it definitely has a lot more tragedy, but it was still really interesting. 3y
TheSpineView @TheAromaofBooks Agree. I love watching the Lippizzaner horses and have seen them perform 3 times. So I enjoyed learning more about their history. ❤🐎 3y
53 likes2 stack adds5 comments
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TheSpineView
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#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

"Her nickname was Jackass Anne."

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ReadingisMyPassion
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This book is officially one of my all-time favorites. While it is nonfiction, it reads like a novel. Letts did extensive research, and it shows. I cannot say enough good things about this book.
Read full review at https://www.facebook.com/groups/ReadingisMyPassion

DivineDiana Sounds amazing! Stacked! 3y
ReadingisMyPassion @DivineDiana I hope you will love it as much as I did. 3y
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TEArificbooks
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Read this book in one sitting today. 5⭐️ read. If you are a fan of Nomadland you will love this book. A woman in her 60‘s is told she only has a few years to live, so in 1954 she saddles a horse, grabs her dog and hits the road. Her goal is Maine to the Pacific Ocean. Along the way she meets intriguing people, becomes famous, and witnesses the cultural and structural changes of America. An amazing story and beautifully written.

EvieBee This sounds right up my alley! Thank you for recommending. Checking my library now…at 4:30 am. Insomnia, lol! 3y
TEArificbooks @EvieBee I have 3:30 am insomnia myself lol 3y
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GAustin
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Just starting this and a chapter in I am intrigued.

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Lauren.Archer
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The unbelievable true story of Annie Wilkins, who at the age of 63 made a cross-country trip from Maine to California by horseback is quite a gem of a story.

Suet624 This sounds great! 3y
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TheSpineView
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Forgot to post this yesterday. I received this ARC in the mail yesterday. Love reading about horsewoman! I read the Perfect Horse by the same author and enjoyed it. Therefore I have some expectations for this one. Hope I am not disappointed. #bookmail 💙📖💙🐎

CampbellTaraL Ooooo! Watching for your review. I also read (and loved) A Perfect Horse. 3y
60 likes2 comments