A Wild Ride: RECLAIMING MY EDGE AFTER CANCER

by Rachel DeSpain

This searing memoir is a compelling page-turning underdog story. Rachel’s comeback after cancer is a great example of how it’s never too late to accomplish your dreams as long as you believe the best is ahead.
-Antonio Neves - Author, Stop Living on Autopilot



This soul-stirring memoir explores the life of an accidental nomad who finds her life adrift after the dotcom bust left her jobless and wandering. Rachel grew up in the Texas Hill Country with a scattershot dose of love and volatility. She recounts wild stories of climbing Machu Picchu, kayaking to remote glaciers, paragliding in Africa, and eating moose heart. Fiercely determined to live an adventurous and meaningful life, Rachel packs her meager belongings into a van and embarks on a precarious roadtrip to the Last Frontier. She camps and forages for food before bootstrapping one of the first American zipline tour businesses in Alaska. Rachel was finally putting down roots with her family when she was diagnosed with breast cancer that spread to her lymph nodes. She portrays a life of crushing blows and impossible highs with heartfelt honesty. She summons courage and grit to keep her afloat on an unlikely journey to reclaim her edge of living a passionate life after cancer.

261 pages, Paperback

Published May 8, 2021

Reviews

[John Mohr · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely brilliantly written memoir that takes you on an adventure of a free spirited young woman through the early years of her life as she deals with the drama of growing up in a divided home, searches for her purpose through college and graduate school and then decides to travel the world. Through her travels, she finds her love and soulmate and they settle in establish a business and a family. Their lives are thrown into turmoil when she was diagnosed with cancer and she brings you into her life as she experiences what we all fear. Rachel takes you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions from happy to sad that will leave you laughing and crying and in the end reflecting on the complexity of life and discovering our passions.

[Cailinn Chavez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun and invigorating read! Read it on vacation after it being advertised/placed in our rental car, truly an inspiring testament to strength and passion! A book that you will keep thinking about years after you’ve read it.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading all about Rachel’s adventures and globe trotting. As a health care professional who works with patients fighting cancer, it was also deeply moving to read about her experience and triumph. This book inspires and reminds me to live life to the fullest!