CHESLEY MEMORIAL LIBRARY
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Picture

The Ride of Her Life
by Elizabeth Letts

In 1954, Annie Wilkins, a sixty-three-year-old farmer from Maine, embarked on an impossible journey. She had no relatives left, she'd lost her family farm to back taxes, and her doctor had just given her two years to live--but only if she lived restfully. He offered her a spot in the county's charity home. Instead, she decided she wanted to see the Pacific Ocean just once before she died. She bought a cast-off brown gelding named Tarzan, donned men's dungarees, loaded up her horse, and headed out from Maine in mid-November, hoping to beat the snow. She had no map, no GPS, no phone. But she had her ex-racehorse, her faithful mutt, and her own unfailing belief that Americans would treat a stranger with kindness.
 
Between 1954 and 1956, Annie, Tarzan, and her dog, Depeche Toi, journeyed more than 4,000 miles, through America's big cities and small towns, meeting 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 who loved animals as much as she did. As Annie trudged through blizzards, forded rivers, climbed mountains, and clung to the narrow shoulder as cars whipped by her at terrifying speeds, she captured the imagination of an apprehensive Cold War America. At a time when small towns were being bypassed by Eisenhower's brand-new interstate highway system, and the reach and impact of television was just beginning to be understood, Annie and her four-footed companions inspired an outpouring of neighborliness in a rapidly changing world.

4.30 Stars out of 5
-goodreads.com

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  • Home
    • About Us >
      • Available at the Library
      • Greatly Appreciated Contributions
      • Library Use Calculator
      • Friends of the Northwood Libraries
      • Trustees
      • Staff
    • Library Rules >
      • Policies
    • Special Events >
      • Visiting Authors... >
        • 2020 Visiting Authors
        • 2019 Visiting Authors
        • 2018 Visiting Authors
  • Library Catalog
    • Catalog How To's >
      • Logging In
      • Searching For Books
      • Using the Online Catalog
      • Reserve An Item
      • Bookbag
      • Using A Cell Phone/Smart Phone
      • Finding New Books
  • Library Services
  • Programs
    • Adult >
      • Book Discussion Groups >
        • Afternoon Book Discussion
        • Evening Book Discussion
      • Senior Cafe'
    • Youth >
      • 1000 Books Program >
        • 1000 Book Sign Up
        • 2020 1000 Readers
        • 2019 1000 Readers
        • 2018 1000 Readers
        • 2017 1000 Readers
        • 2016 1000 Readers
      • Summer Program
      • Story Time
      • Read Alouds
      • Authors and Illustrators
      • Book Awards >
        • Ladybug Award: gr Pre-K - 3rd
        • Great Stone Face Award: gr 4-6
        • Isinglass Award: gr 7-8
        • Flume Award: gr 9-12
      • DIY Kids
      • Cupcake War >
        • Cupcake War
  • Resources
    • Covid-19 Resources
    • Genealogy
    • Library Of Things
    • Northwood Facts >
      • Historical Northwood Photos
    • Tickets & Passes
  • Products