Tag walking

Trail Family Is a Unique AT Story

Reg Spittle 1 Comment

James Dalton Ward exited a failed marriage, moved into a camper, and worked a minimum-wage job. At 27 years old, he sought meaning for his life.

From his home in Alabama, he looked east to the Appalachian Trail for a distraction and, if he dared to dream, a life with purpose. In a solo attempt that defeats most who try it, he borrowed money from family and began the 2,197-mile trek in Georgia poorly equipped and with little experience.

Masterfully crafted, Trail Family: A Journey of Friendship and Transformation on the Appalachian Trail is a story of connections as Dalton forms bonds with a group of fellow thru hikers who give everything they’ve got to get to Mount Katahdin in Maine. The ups and downs of the legendary trail mirror the problems they each confront along the way.

The author bares self-doubts that burden him more than his heavy backpack, but trail family relationships and his developing confidence give him the strength to keep going. He gives readers a clear look at the Appalachian Trail through 14 states while crafting a guidebook for the spirit.

There’s enough joy along with hardships on these pages to make Trail Family an entertaining book that kept me turning pages with anticipation. It is one of the best and most unique thru-hiking stories I have read.

Andrew McCarthy: Was He Really a Brat?

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Andrew McCarthy grew up searching for direction. He was plagued by anxiety, a lack of confidence, and bad grades in school.

Through it all, though, he sensed that he possessed a gift. It surfaced one day when he was a teen-ager, uncharacteristically putting aside his jitters and walking into a rehearsal hall at New York University. During his reading, his instincts for acting bared themselves as an unscripted performance so good that he was accepted to NYU’s acting program, provided he improve his grades and show a seriousness of purpose.

With humor and honesty, the actor and director relates a book full of revealing anecdotes in Brat: An ‘80s Story. As a teen-ager, he broke into movies in Class, with Rob Lowe and Jacqueline Bissett. He leaped to stardom in Pretty in Pink, St. Elmo’s Fire, and the hysterical Weekend at Bernie’s.

He did not consider himself one of the “brat pack” and was not close to many of his fellow actors; his self-doubt showed itself as aloofness. He lost one part after an exceptional audition with John Hughes. But, Hughes misinterpreted McCarthy’s nervous whistling as he left the room as off-putting cockiness. Hughes chose someone else.

McCarthy is an exceptional writer who has also pursued grand adventures that he describes in a captivating book, The Longest Way Home. In Walking With Sam, McCarthy brilliantly relates his walk across Spain with his son on the Camino de Santiago.

Andrew McCarthy has often not been very kind to Andrew McCarthy. But he has overcome alcoholism, performed and directed with distinction, and written several best-selling books. Now in his 60s, I hope he lives out his life with a sense of accomplishment while adding to his volumes of work.