Hiking Through: Finding Peace and Freedom on the Appalachian Trail Virtual Book Tour March & April 2010
Authors on Tour, Featured — By Dorothy Thompson on February 7, 2010 at 8:53 am
Join Paul V. Stutzman, author of the memoir, Hiking Through: Finding Peace and Freedom on the Appalachian Trail (Synergy Books), as he virtually tours the blogosphere in March and April 2010 on his first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book!
About Paul V. Stutzman
After Paul Stutzman’s wife died, Paul quit his job to hike the Appalachian trail to give himself time to think and to heal. Hiking Through: Finding Peace and Freedom on the Appalachian Trail is his story. A former restaurant manager, he is now retired and planning his next big adventure: a cross-country bicycle trip. Stutzman currently lives in Berlin, Ohio. To see pictures of his hike or to find out more about Paul and his book, visit his website at www.hikingthrough.com.
Hiking Through: Finding Peace and Freedom on the Appalachian Trail by Paul V. Stutzman (click on cover to purchase at Amazon)
About Hiking Through: Finding Peace and Freedom on the Appalachian Trail
After losing his wife to breast cancer, Paul Stutzman decided to make some big changes. He quit his job of seventeen years and embarked upon a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, a 2,176-mile stretch of varying terrain spanning fourteen states. During his nearly five-month-long hike, he battled brutal trail conditions and overwhelming loneliness, but also enjoyed spectacular scenery and trail camaraderie. With breathtaking descriptions and humorous anecdotes from his travels, Stutzman reveals how immersing himself in nature and befriending fellow hikers helped him recover from a devastating loss. Somewhere between Georgia and Maine, he realized that God had been with him every step of the way, and on a famous path through the wilderness, he found his own path to peace and freedom.
Read an Excerpt!
That all changed with one phone call.
My wife Mary called me at the restaurant I had managed for seventeen years. Her strained voice said, “It’s malignant.” My mind raced—benign, malignant—which is good news, which is bad? I couldn’t remember.
“What does that mean?”
“I have cancer.” The words jerked out between sobs. I told Mary I was coming home, hung up the phone, dropped my head into my hands, and for the first time in years, wept.
As I prepared to go home to my wife, the daily calendar on my desk caught my eye. On that day, August 30, 2002, the meditation came from the lyrics of an old song by Harry Emerson Fosdick, a song I had often sung growing up in the Conservative Mennonite Church:
God of grace and God of glory,
On Thy people pour Thy power.
Read what critics have to say!
Do yourself a huge favor and read this book. It will definitely change how you look at yourself and your loved ones. It has a powerful message that everyone should hear!
I highly recommend this book for everyone, religious or not, married or not, hiker or not. It is a must read that will remind us all how fragile life is and how any day may be our last. It is also a book about hope and that everything happens for a reason, and that God is still relevant in our lives even after a tragedy.
If you are a hiker, nature lover, believer or struggling to deal with a loss you will find inspiration in this memoir. I give this book 5 stars!
Mr. Stutzman’s writing style is very easy. He is honest about himself and the characters he meets along the trail. His mission is to spread the word to men – appreciate your wives while you have them because they can be taken in a heartbeat. He learns so much on his seemingly endless hike – about life, about himself and about his faith. I have been to several of the stops along the Appalachian Trail that are described in the book and this made the book all the more interesting to me. It brought back some great memories of my travels around in the fifthwheel with my hiking hubby. He did several sections of the trail. He also read the book and enjoyed it. I can tell you that he does appreciate me very much…
Books like this fascinate me and this is one of the best. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves walking/hiking, loves being in the outdoors or is adventurous in any way.
This book made me laugh at times, and cry at other times! At the ending two pages, I cried like a baby…. I am emotional anyway, but this book made me see that it truly is not about the big stuff in life. The big stuff can be taken away at the drop of a hat, what matters most is the little stuff. You spend a long time building your homes, and getting careers going, but not enough on your family and listening to God. This book is not about God, but it will help you to find yourself in one capacity or another. What amazes me, is the feeling I personally had when he finished those 2200 miles, I can only imagine after what Paul went through how HE felt! Great read folks, really great read!
Hiking Through is a wonderful narrative of Paul’s journey to rediscover himself, to shed stress and grief, renew his faith and to learn to be truly happy. Hiking Through is written in a warm, witty, and friendly tone, as though he is speaking directly to the reader. Throughout the book, Paul shares his life experiences, those of fellow hikers, and the lessons he learned throughout his long journey hiking the Appalachian Trail. I would recommend Hiking Through to everyone.
Hiking Through chronicles the rite of passage of a godly man after the tragic loss of his wife to cancer that results in his personal mission to convince others to never take a spouse for granted. Paul V. Stutzman, it turns out, is Dr. Trevor Thomas (of N8 Chiropractic in Lancaster, Ohio) father-in-law from Amish country in Holmes County, Ohio. The book draws you into an otherwise private and personal pilgrimage as he hikes the entire 2,176 miles of the Appalachian Trail, beginning in Georgia and ending 5 months later high atop Mt. Katahdin in Maine. Along the journey, Stutzman, a professional restaurateur, blends his encounters with the environment, the trail, and people of the AT (Appalachian Trail) with flashbacks to his childhood, saut ed by his personal grief, and seasoned by his own spiritual renewal and manages to serve up a read that is both soul food and comfort food at the same time. My feet hurt and my body shed pounds as I vicariously hiked with this wonderful man. He became my friend. His heart for God and his Mennonite sensibilities emanate from his writing. Paul, at 58 walked away from nearly 30 years as the operator of a Berlin, Ohio restaurant, and onto his path of peace. His Amish heritage lived out as a conservative Mennonite; provide the reader a gentle, wholesome and soothing feast that leaves a pleasant after taste. Finally, near the end of Hiking Through, Stutzman serves up a surprise dessert in the form of what he believes was a personal message to all of us from the Lord. I believe you will live and love his journey I know I did!
– Ron Grubb, Lancom Church
Hiking Through: Finding Peace and Freedom on the Appalachian Trail Tour Schedule
Monday, March 1
Virginia Beach Publishing Book Pick of the Week at Virginia Beach Publishing Examiner
Tuesday, March 2
Interviewed at Beyond the Books
Wednesday, March 3
Guest blogging at The Story Behind the Book
Thursday, March 4
Interviewed at Blogcritics
Friday, March 5
Reviewed at Simply Stacie
Tuesday, March 9
Guest blogging at Red Raven Circling
Thursday, March 11
Guest blogging at Thoughts in Progress
Friday, March 12
Interviewed at The Writer’s Life
Monday, March 15
Guest blogging at Island Chick Travels
Tuesday, March 16
Interviewed at Pump Up Your Book
Wednesday, March 17
Guest blogging at Double the Adventure
Thursday, March 18
Guest blogging at Beth’s Book Review Blog
Friday, March 19
Book reviewed by Mindful Reviews
Monday, March 22
Interviewed at Broken Teepee
Tuesday, March 23
Guest blogging at Cafe of Dreams
Wednesday, March 24
Guest blogging at As the Pages Turn
Thursday, March 25
Book spotlighted at Appalachian Nature Examiner
Friday, March 26
Interviewed at The Hot Author Report
Monday, April 5
Interviewed at Examiner
Tuesday, April 6
Book reviewed and book giveaway at The Life (and Lies) of an Inanimate Flying Object
Wednesday, April 7
Book reviewed at Reading at the Beach
Thursday, April 8
Interviewed at American Chronicle
Friday, April 9
Book reviewed at Rundpinne
Monday, April 12
Book reviewed at I Heart Books
Tuesday, April 13
Guest blogging at Travel Blissful
Wednesday, April 14
Interviewed at Book Marketing Buzz
Thursday, April 15
Guest blogging at Just One More Paragraph
Friday, April 16
Book reviewed at Just One More Paragraph
Monday, April 19
Book reviewed at Books in the City
Tuesday, April 20
Book reviewed at One Person’s Journey Through a World of Books
Wednesday, April 21
Book reviewed at Book Lover
Thursday, April 22
Interviewed at Personovelty
Friday, April 23
Book reviewed at 2 Kids and Tired Reviews
Monday, April 26
Book spotlighted at Literarily Speaking’s Book Club Selection – Day 1
Tuesday, April 27
Book spotlighted at Literarily Speaking’s Book Club Selection – Day 2
Wednesday, April 28
Book spotlighted at Literarily Speaking’s Book Club Selection – Day 3
Thursday, April 29
Book reviewed at Pump Up Your Book
Friday, April 30
Interviewed at Paperback Writer
Interviewed at Divine Caroline
Paul V. Stutzman’s HIKING THROUGH: FINDING PEACE AND FREEDOM ON THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR ‘10 will officially begin on March 1 and end on April 30 2010. Please contact Dorothy Thompson at thewriterslife@yahoo.com if you are interested in hosting and/or reviewing his book during his virtual book tour or click here to use the form. Thank you!
Update: Paul V. Stutzman’s tour is full. Thanks go to all participating reviewers and blog hosts!
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