Just Up The Road: A Year Discovering People, Places, and What Comes Next in the Pine Tree State

by Chelsea Diehl

Just Up The Road follows Chelsea Diehl's year-long journey through Maine following the suggestions from those who know and love it most. With candid, humorous and personal recounts of new and revisited journeys, readers will follow her trail of stays, discoveries, hikes, and meals―all while getting to meet some of the people that make them possible.

Genres: Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

Published October 10, 2023

Reviews

[Regina Welkie]

I pre-ordered this book knowing I would be inspired to read it just when I needed it. I’m so glad I waited to read this book about experiencing the beauty of Maine…while in Maine!

[Alicia]

I really enjoyed watching the writer’s journey and writing develop over the course of the book. I’d like to visit some of the destinations she wrote about, but explore them with my kids through their eyes. I wish she would have explored more of interior Maine. Most of this was along the more touristy, expensive, coastal parts of Maine.

[Gia Pilgrim Charles]

This was a wonderful read. Lots of places to highlight for the bucket list. I can’t help but feel like some of these are… inaccessible for a lot of Mainers — price-wise. However I really appreciated the in-depth details of hiking spots especially from a parent’s perspective.

[Shannon]

This book was absolutely fantastic. The way Chelsea weaves her personal journey into each story is so relatable and honest. And she captures the people and places she meets and visits with that same genuineness.

This book isn’t simply “go here, do this”, it’s more about really leaning into the individuals and experiences that can help shift the way we think and feel. It’s a fresh perspective, filled with stellar recommendations, woven together with Chelsea’s candid narrative.

[Chloe Hannan]

Absolutely loved reading about Chelsea’s magical adventures in Maine (I tagged many of them in my ‘want to go’ map on Google maps!). Also loved learning more about her finding herself, and that careers don’t define us

[Emily Michaud]

I hate to rate a personal story badly. This book was loaned to me by a coworker, I felt obliged to read it. There’s something that doesn’t sit right with me about someone not from Maine and not having lived here very long writing a travel book about our state.

Mainers are super protective of our land and spaces and we don’t always want all of our best kept secrets put out there. I also couldn’t relate to the authors life at all and it felt out of touch. It also just exemplifies much bigger socioeconomic issues we have here. So many wealthy out-of-staters have moved here since the pandemic, working their remote jobs, driving up the housing market making it virtually impossible for Mainers to buy real estate anymore, and adding to our healthcare crisis because we don’t have enough doctors for everyone.

These issues are obviously not the authors fault but I just couldn’t help but feel icky while reading this. I did get some ideas for a couple small hikes but a good chunk of this book is expensive places to eat/stay.

[Susan Emmet]

While I do agree with reviewers who note that many of the places in Maine she showcases during her year of exploring the state are too expensive for many folks, there is much here to ponder and seek out.
I like her description of "taking a year off" from full-time work to experience all kinds of places and people, alone or with her daughter and husband. I also like that she offers further information about the many people she meets - how they got here, what a final meal would be, who they admire and why they stay in Maine. Brought back all kinds of hikes and adventures my husband and I did when we were younger. I even got out scrap and photo books to recall them.
Might be a bit heavy on coastal locations, but it's certainly a book that can fuel your planning for Maine adventures. Reny's ain't the only Maine adventure!

[Kate_52]

Don't get me wrong, the message and themes in this book are wholesome and (frankly) very timely for me. I'm proud of this writer for branching out and trying a new hobby. But, this book feels like a tik tok. Snappy, quick, and with little substance.

With that being said, I've spent most of my life growing up in Maine and wanting to get out. I'm currently caught between deciding if I want to actually build my life here or not. Reading JUTR has definitely given me pause

[Christopher Brown]

If you love Maine the way I do you have to read this book.