Feather Beard: Steps from the Heart of a Solitary Walker

by Frank Carter, Terry Tempest Williams (Foreword)

Frank Carter set out in the spring of 2012 to rediscover his family’s southern roots, his own essence, and the earth itself by walking 500 miles through America’s greatest wilderness path—the Appalachian Trail. The lessons sprawl over the miles, coming from myriad sources, from an ant-riddled worm to a path-guarding bear to a battle-damaged soldier recovering from his horrors through nature’s tonic.
In a time of environmental crisis and human separation from nature, Feather Beard explores through art, music, and storytelling the act of walking as a mode of reconnecting to the more-than-human world. It re-examines the sojourn as a lost art, a modern take on the walkabout, vision quest, or religious pilgrimage—experiences cultures around the globe seek out, knowing that our personal journeys begin with a thousand steps.

196 pages, Hardcover

Published October 2, 2015

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This memoir about hiking the Appalachian Trail is very different from Bill Bryson's "Walk in the Woods" or Cheryl Strayed's "Wild" - much more spiritual and philosophical, delving at times into preaching to the choir about stewardship of the environment. Plus the author was much more prepared to hike, despite his blisters, so it wasn't filled with stories of stupidity and hubris.

But I'm beginning to think I wouldn't like to hike the Appalachian Trail. First, it seems to rain all the time and I avoid hiking in the rain at all. (Easy to do in arid Montana.) Secondly, what is the purpose of hiking up and down all those mountains if you are constantly in a tree tunnel? "In 400 miles, I have only seen the sun rise and fall once." Granted, that tree tunnel might feel cooler on days when the temperature was above 100 degrees, but it can also feel oppressive when there is no cooling breeze and no imspiring vista.

The most meaningful part of the book to me was Carter's ruminations on death and life. I've copied a passage from page 16 to be recited when my ashes are scattered in the Montana mountains. "May my body fill the belly of another so that it may live on with part of me inside it. ... In death, I will kiss the Earth again."

[Zahra Mahdieh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frank Carter is a beautiful soul. Reading this book was a rich yet painful experience for me. I realized how it would feel to have roots and to know you belong to someone and somewhere. While reading this book, I got a chance to catch a glimpse of memories that I don't have. I wish I was on that walk with him but thanks for sharing it.