The Road Unseen

by Peter Jenkins, Barbara Jenkins

The authors, who previously walked across America, recount their further travels, and explain how the presence of God has enabled them to face their personal trials

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Biography, Adventure, Religion, Christian, Memoir

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Born July 8th, 1951 in Greenwich, Connecticut,

Peter is the eldest of the six children of Frederick and Mary Jenkins.

Graduated from Greenwich High School in 1969.

Attended Woodstock in summer of 1969.

Graduated from Alfred University in 1973 with a BFA, majoring in Sculptor/ Ceramics.
Began his Walk Across America on October 15, 1973 in Alfred, New York. It ended in mid-January of 1979 in Florence, Oregon.

When not traveling and exploring he lives on a farm in middle Tennessee . He is the proud father of six children, Aaron, Brooke, Rebekah, Jedidiah, Luke and Julianne and is married to the former Rita Jorgensen of Michigan .

Reviews

[Kevin]

nothing personal, but i wasn't expecting the choppy, overt testimonial this book turned out to be. it's definitely a companion to the great walk across america and the walk west. if you haven't read those and/or aren't a christian you probably will be as bored as i was.

[Margaret]

I loved reading about their lives after the books. I found it meandering at times but then that didn't offset me at the least.

[Mona Randall]

An easy to read, yet compelling book about becoming a Christian and travel . Highly recommended.

[David Richardson]

A good story of faith, love, and adventure.

[Marilyn A.]

The Road Unseen is a memoir of God’s faithfulness in the lives of Peter and Barbara Jenkins who undertook to walk across the nation in the late seventies and early eighties. Peter had already done a walk from New York down to New Orleans which was chronicled in his book “A Walk Across America”. While in New Orleans, he met and married Barbara and they started out to finish Peter’s walk by walking from New Orleans to the Oregon coast–a journey that would take them five years! It was sad for me reading this book as a quick internet search revealed that Peter and Barbara would divorce two years after the book was published. It was evident to me just from reading the book that their marriage was on rocky ground. Peter walking hundreds of yards ahead of Barbara and berating her when she had trouble keeping up didn’t seem to jive with Peter’s portions of the book which described date nights and warm-hearted stories of life on their farm with their three children after their walk. Just because people are Christians does not mean that they will be sinless. Peter, obviously a man who was driven by desires different from most to accomplish this terrific feat, did not seem to have what it takes to live a humble, chaste life. Barbara just published a book telling the untold story of her walk and her marriage unraveling which I have not read. There is another book too, by her son, where he and his mom do a similar walk. Barbara’s story of her being told by God to accompany Peter because of a sermon in church one Sunday, is hard. Why did God want her to marry Peter if their marriage would only end up in divorce? This is a hard question that I don’t begin to understand.

[Steve Rutledge]

Meh. I first raid A Walk Across America and it was a fantastic travelog. This one i didn't enjoy so much. This book focuses more on Peter's becoming a Christian and their relationship with God. That's fine and does not a bad book make. But while they still talk about the traveling the focus is certainly elsewhere. Also, some of the chapters are written by Peter and some are by Barbara. While sometimes I enjoyed this it gave the book a very disjointed feel. Also the book suddenly ends out of nowhere.

[Leslie]

Interesting book that is a testimonial of the spiritual walk of Peter and Barbara Jenkins while they physically walked across the country. Personally, the book feels more like the voice of Barbara, rather than Peter. I was originally inspired to read these series of books due to the bike riding travels across the country of a good friend who was captivated by Peter's story. Peter's later life, not disclosed in this book, unfortunately diminished his testimony and therefore, the impact of the message here.

[Adrian]

I was expecting more from a book with a blurb by Dr. Dobson, but I was severely disappointed. The Jenkins' faith is too shallow and I just didn't enjoy the storyline and where it was going. Not recommended.

[Shelly]

I had high hopes for this book during a difficult time in my life, as the entire “Walk” series are some of my all time favourite books, but this one fell flat. Honestly I was so bored I had to force myself to finish it. I’m sure some will find this book enjoyable but it just wasn’t for me. But I will treasure all my Walk books forever.

[Nicholas Maulucci]

eh...

[Barb G]

Disappointed.

[Sara]

NF- Memoir

[Laurie Wheeler]

Not as interesting as the original two books. This is more of a...what are the Jenkins doing now, sort of book.

[Kay Schrock]

I have been a fan of the Jenkins' books for years. I was happy to discover this gem, detailing their spiritual journeys.

[Justin]

This book is about Peter Jenkins life during and after his walk from New Orleans to Oregon. It is mainly on his Christian faith and his journey as a Christian. He also talks about his kids alot in the end of the book and how they are growing up. If you were looking for a great travel book, this really isn't for you. However, if you liked his books "A Walk Across America" and "A Walk West" and you wish to learn more about his journey, especially his marriage/kids and religion than you will most likely enjoy The Road Unseen.

[David Ward]

The Road Unseen by Peter Jenkins (Thomas Nelson Publishers 1995) (Biography). Peter and Barbara Jenkins dish the dirt (“share their spiritual journey”) that arose during their adventure that resulted in the book about their walk across the western U.S. They eventually divorced, but that was after this book. My rating: 7/10, finished 1999.

[Cws]

280.4

[Read1000books]

The travel part is interesting but you can see as you read that these newlyweds are having trouble (they later divorced).

[Dan Smith]

A great book by both Peter and Barbara. Unfortunately the marriage did not work out,but they did share a bit of America with us

[Ike]

One word = goddy

[Phillip]

3.75

[Lori Sue]

Another autographed book from Peter Jenkins!

[J]

The religious ideas the authors perceived in their walk from New Orleans to Oregon, ironically when reading between the lines it's clear their marriage was strained. They later divorced.

[Bitsy]

1987