Windswept Walking the paths of trailblazing women

In a book that combines biography, autobiography, meditation, and feminist tract, readers follow the walking paths taken by seven important women: Frieda von Richthofen, Gwen John, Clara Vyvyan, Daphne du Maurier, Nan Shepherd, Simone de Beauvoir, and Georgia O'Keeffe. Each woman walks ostensibly for her own personal reason, but according to Abbs, each is "compelled to walk by emotional turmoil." Each also suffers from societal restrictions and the general male domination of her life. Out in the wilds, alone, the women find who they are in ways unavailable in other venues. The accounts are interspersed with snippets of the biology of the outdoors and the neuroscience of the process of walking, offering a truly interesting spin on why we all should walk. Abbs follows the trails used by her subjects whenever possible, with results that are sometimes thrilling and sometimes disappointing because of the changes that time has wrought. The dangers to women walking alone still exist, though maps are better and hiking gear much improved. This should be read by all women and those who love the outdoors.

British novelist Abbs (The Joyce Girl) finds power in the mundane act of walking in this beautiful and meditative memoir. After a severe head injury temporarily left Abbs unable to walk, she vowed never to take that ability for granted again. Once she was cleared to walk, she set out to retrace the footsteps of notable women who "walked for inspiration, consolation, and liberation," but whose travels curiously weren't recognized like the ones of their "famous male counterparts." She followed Georgia O'Keefe's steps through New Mexico and Texas; Welsh painter Gwen John's amblings along the River Garonne in France; Simone de Beauvoir's hikes in rural France; and "lifelong walker" Daphne du Maurier's rambles along the River Rhône. As she reveled in the beauty of nature and considered each woman's story, Abbs took a deep dive into her own psyche, coming to terms with her unusual upbringing in the Welsh countryside and her identity, which she contemplates in lyrical prose ("a self is not a thing, but a becoming"). By her trek's end, she realized "my journey in their footsteps was also an attempt to walk and write myself free." This lush narrative serves as the perfect excuse to get moving. Agent: Stuart Krichevsky, SK Agency. (Sept.)