Emma Gatewood, mother of eleven and grandmother of many, was sixty-seven years old when she walked the 2,050-mile Appalachian Trail in 1955. Without special walking shoes, without high-tech camping gear, she set out for the trail - and finished it (then did it again). Ben Montgomery, a Pulitzer finalist, does a masterful job of presenting Gatewood's remarkable story and enduring legacy (some people credit her with saving the Appalachian Trail by bringing attention to its then poor conditions). I credit Gatewood, a sturdy and steadfast woman, for setting a goal and meeting it, and in the process inspiring us all.
A Reader Review by Arline A. Fleming of Narragansett, Rhode Island