EUREKA PUBLIC LIBRARY DISTRICT (Eureka, Illinois)
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August 4, 2021 | Adult Review

8/4/2021

 
Picture

The Ride of Her Life: The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America

Letts, Elizabeth

2021, Ballantine Books

Nonfiction

Print copy and large print copy at library

The incredible true story of a woman who rode her horse across America in the 1950s, fulfilling her dying wish to see the Pacific Ocean, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Horse and The Eighty-Dollar Champion .

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.

Read a review by Debra Blunier:

the_ride_of_her_life.pdf
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Address
202 S. Main St.
​Eureka, IL 61530
Phone
309-467-2922
Hours
​
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9:00 am - 8:00 pm
Tuesday
9:00 am - 8:00 pm
Wednesday
9:00 am - 6:00 pm
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  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • Contact Us
    • Library Board
    • Library Policies
    • Staff & Employment
    • Friends of the Library
    • Donations
    • Library Newsletter
  • At The Library
    • Program Calendar
    • Kids
    • Teens
    • Adults
    • Get a Library Card
    • Loan Periods and Fines
    • Access Your Account
    • Library of Things
  • Find Books & More
    • Search Catalog
    • Wowbrary: Latest Additions
    • Interlibrary Loans
    • Ebooks & Audiobooks
    • Online Music and Movies
    • Digital Magazines & Newspapers
    • E-Sequels
    • Staff Book Reviews
    • Pages of Eureka
  • Services
    • Outreach
    • Porch Pickup
    • Free Services
    • Copy, Print, & Fax
    • Educational Materials Request
    • Talking Books
    • Explore More Illinois
    • Online Classes
    • Niche Academy
  • Research
    • COVID-19 Resources
    • Genealogy & Local History
    • Eureka Pumpkin Festival
    • City & County Resources
    • State & Federal Resources
    • Tax Form Information
    • Voter Information