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

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Annie's entire life was one of hardship and barely hanging on. That describes her trip too because, despite real offers of places to live, she always took to the road again, going after that dream of touching the Pacific Ocean. Annie's grit and determination was inspiring but her stubbornness was also dangerous and the story was often difficult for me to read. The author does a great job of allowing us to travel with Annie and to allow us to be on her long and perilous trip.

Along the way, Annie found the best in people most of the time. She realized well into her journey that she wasn’t traveling alone, there were many people closely following her travels with hopes of her success. Trusting to her own toughness and will, she was convinced she would be fine as she was sure there was still a spirit of friendliness and empathy from the American people. Indeed, in so many cases her belief turned out to be true, as Annie was met with so many accolades and stayed and was cared for in so many homes across the roads she traveled, becoming a celebrity. Annie met some famous people and became famous herself, once her story was published as a human interest in local newspapers. She got numerous job offers and even an offer of marriage. With a beautiful glimpse into an Americana that once was, the author breathes life into the towns and people of 1950’s America. The places Annie would rest for the evening, be it someone’s home, the local jail, a barn, or sometimes just out in a field restored her faith in people and her country.In Pennsylvania, Wilkins was put up by a kindly innkeeper in the town of Chadds Ford in the Brandywine River area. A famous resident of both Chadds Ford and of Maine, Andrew Wyeth, came by to meet the eccentric older woman and her horse and they got drunk together, according to the Chadds Ford Historical Society. Ultimately, this is an inspiring story. Both Annie and Tarzan were living on borrowed time, but they both ended up living a life more exciting than either could have imagined. This was a heartwarming story of all the human spirit can accomplish with determination and guts.

The times were different and Annie became a celebrity with newspapers taking on her story and so she was a well-known figure as she approached a new town. She depended on the kindness of strangers, who welcomed her with open arms and gave her food, medical care, and a place to spend the night. They celebrated her birthdays and holidays and gave her a sense of belonging she had never known before. At about 10 miles per day, it takes her quite a while and as you might expect, it is more about the journey. The author delivers mini-history lessons about landmarks along the way, and I enjoyed those. It was also very interesting to see how many people welcomed Annie in along with stabling her horse along the way. The history I learned in her travels was, well, words just can't describe what I felt. I learned things I never knew I needed to know! I was thrilled to find out that she even traveled through my home state, and believe me, I will be doing some research about that. Annie Wilkins is a strong female character. In the 20th century, she doesn’t fit the norm. She is divorced twice and doesn’t attend church. She is not devout or docile. She is funny and bold. At the age of sixty-three, she decides to leave Maine and travel across the country to California without any modern day conveniences.He knew Annie was dirt poor, so he offered to get her into a state funded retirement home. Annie didn’t like to be rude to anyone offering help, so she politely told the doctor she’d think about it. The Ride of Her Life: The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America by Elizabeth Letts I felt like Lindbergh from Paris, but I must have looked more like Buffalo Bill’s wife,” Wilkins quipped at one point. Before she started traveling she lived on family property in Minot, Maine only a few miles from where she was born. Sadly, her health failed and she was given a diagnosis of terminal cancer (2 to 4 years left, they said). They offered her a place in a rest home. She was in her early sixties. She decided that was not how she wanted to spend the last years of her life. Instead she bought a horse, probably part Morgan, just before he was to be sent to a glue factory. She named him Tarzan and was determined to ride him across the country to California. Her dog would accompany them.

This poignant, inspiring story is not just about a woman choosing to live instead of die, but also about an America that no longer exists.” —Melanie Benjamin, author of The Children’s Blizzard In August 1955, she reached Cheyenne, Wyoming, where she witnessed the annual Frontier Days, a renowned rodeo event. Not only is this Annie’s story, it is Midcentury America’s — fueled by a spirit bursting with life after surviving the Depression and two world wars. Both tales woven deftly together by author Elizabeth Letts. Brava! This is a story of a woman who had a very limited life, never knowing of the world beyond her tiny town in Maine. But she took a chance and lived a life much larger than any she could have imagined. She could be stubborn and took dangerous chances, but she lived her life on her own terms, and what a life she lived! Along the way, another horse was to join their entourage. Annie, her horses, and her sweet dog stole my heart. The triumphant 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 andTHE EIGHTY-DOLLAR CHAMPION.

Elizabeth Letts

She acquires a second horse to help carry the load and the quartet has quite a few adventures along the way – mountains to cross, flash flooding, road debris, and poison. I worried at several points if she and the horses would make it to California. She’s dressed in men’s clothing as it was unusual for a woman to travel alone in those days. She frequently was welcomed to spend the night at the local jail as was the custom at the time for the homeless and travelers.

A true story, it shows how much our world has changed since this journey was undertaken. I assumed Annie would spend many nights in the elements, struggling to survive and likely miserable. In contrast, she spent very few nights this way, as the world set out to meet, greet, and treat her. She was provided with stables and corrals for her horses, a bed for herself, along with meals and warmth and companionship from families, law enforcement, and officials in the towns she passed through. She was asked to participate in parades, and became somewhat famous through newspaper articles informing the public of her progress. Her animals were as well treated as she was. There is sly wisdom in Annie Wilkins’s simple journey: Keep faith in yourself and animals, trust in strangers, dismiss all the downers, and always live as if you just received a mortal diagnosis. Letts honors her subjects…with an author’s hand and a historian’s eye.” —Ken Ilgunas, author of Trespassing Across America All this to say, great book, true story, precious animals, a brave and positive-thinking old woman, and the country that I call home. This is such a beautifully written and heartwarming true story of a spunky lady who, against all odds, rode a horse across America. Starting in Maine, her only wish was to see the Pacific Ocean, a wish she’d heard her mother make, but was sadly never able to attempt. If you like nearly lost causes, horses, American travel, American trivia, history, and adventure, you must read this book. Although I will say that it drags in some places and it does not have a happy ending for all concerned, but it is still well worth your time.Knowing she was about to lose her family farm and with nowhere to turn for help, Annie Wilkins places an ad in the paper for a sturdy horse. After seeing a few, she knew she’d met the perfect match in an older Morgan she named Tarzan. Along with her spunky dog Depeche Toi, Annie hit the road.