Science & Math
Biological Sciences
![Elizabeth Letts - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_a_elizabeth_letts.jpg)
The Ride of Her Life: The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America
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 and The Eighty-Dollar Champion
"The gift Elizabeth Letts has is that she makes you feel you are the one taking this trip. This is a book we can enjoy always but especially need now."-Elizabeth Berg, author of The Story of Arthur Truluv
In 1954, sixty-three-year-old Maine farmer Annie Wilkins embarked on an impossible journey. She had no money and no family, she had just lost her farm, and her doctor had given her only two years to live. But Annie wanted to see the Pacific Ocean before she died. She ignored her doctor's advice to move into the county charity home. Instead, she bought a cast-off brown gelding named Tarzan, donned men's dungarees, and headed south in mid-November, hoping to beat the snow. Annie had little idea what to expect beyond her rural crossroads; she didn't even have a map. But she did have her ex-racehorse, her faithful mutt, and her own unfailing belief that Americans would treat a stranger with kindness.
Annie, Tarzan, and her dog, Depeche Toi, rode straight into a world transformed by the rapid construction of modern highways. Between 1954 and 1956, the three travelers pushed through blizzards, forded rivers, climbed mountains, and clung to the narrow shoulder as cars whipped by them at terrifying speeds. Annie rode more than four thousand miles, through America's big cities and small towns. Along the way, she met 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. In a decade when car ownership nearly tripled, when television's influence was expanding fast, when homeowners began locking their doors, Annie and her four-footed companions inspired an outpouring of neighborliness in a rapidly changing world.
"The gift Elizabeth Letts has is that she makes you feel you are the one taking this trip. This is a book we can enjoy always but especially need now."-Elizabeth Berg, author of The Story of Arthur Truluv
In 1954, sixty-three-year-old Maine farmer Annie Wilkins embarked on an impossible journey. She had no money and no family, she had just lost her farm, and her doctor had given her only two years to live. But Annie wanted to see the Pacific Ocean before she died. She ignored her doctor's advice to move into the county charity home. Instead, she bought a cast-off brown gelding named Tarzan, donned men's dungarees, and headed south in mid-November, hoping to beat the snow. Annie had little idea what to expect beyond her rural crossroads; she didn't even have a map. But she did have her ex-racehorse, her faithful mutt, and her own unfailing belief that Americans would treat a stranger with kindness.
Annie, Tarzan, and her dog, Depeche Toi, rode straight into a world transformed by the rapid construction of modern highways. Between 1954 and 1956, the three travelers pushed through blizzards, forded rivers, climbed mountains, and clung to the narrow shoulder as cars whipped by them at terrifying speeds. Annie rode more than four thousand miles, through America's big cities and small towns. Along the way, she met 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. In a decade when car ownership nearly tripled, when television's influence was expanding fast, when homeowners began locking their doors, Annie and her four-footed companions inspired an outpouring of neighborliness in a rapidly changing world.
Editorial Reviews
"Twenty pages of notes and a Bibliography attest to the serious and thorough research by the author who travelled ten thousand miles to research this story. . . . What is so appealing about this nutball adventure is that the reader is taken on a trip across the United States."-New York Journal of Books
"Heartwarming."-AARP
"Elizabeth Letts's gift is that she makes you feel you are the one taking this trip: selecting your route from a gas station map, enduring awful weather and accidents, hearing the creak of the saddle and the roar of the trucks that pass you by. This is a book we can enjoy always but especially need now."-Elizabeth Berg, author of The Story of Arthur Truluv
"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
"A love story on so many levels-from the menagerie that was with her every step of the way, to the kindness of strangers who opened their homes to help Annie complete this ride of her life-this book will tear at your heartstrings from beginning to end. I loved it, and so will you!"-Robin Hutton, author of Sgt. Reckless: America's War Horse
"Annie Wilkins was an American original, and The Ride of Her Life gives her the tribute she deserves. Elizabeth Letts has created an indelible account of hope, loyalty, generosity, and sheer grit-and the power of a woman doing something just because she wants to do it."-Matthew Goodman, author of Eighty Days
"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
"Thanks to deeply sourced research and her own travels along Wilkins' route, Letts vividly portrays an audacious woman whose optimism, courage, and good humor are to be marveled at and admired. Upbeat and touching, Wilkins' story is the perfect pandemic escapist read."
"Heartwarming."-AARP
"Elizabeth Letts's gift is that she makes you feel you are the one taking this trip: selecting your route from a gas station map, enduring awful weather and accidents, hearing the creak of the saddle and the roar of the trucks that pass you by. This is a book we can enjoy always but especially need now."-Elizabeth Berg, author of The Story of Arthur Truluv
"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
"A love story on so many levels-from the menagerie that was with her every step of the way, to the kindness of strangers who opened their homes to help Annie complete this ride of her life-this book will tear at your heartstrings from beginning to end. I loved it, and so will you!"-Robin Hutton, author of Sgt. Reckless: America's War Horse
"Annie Wilkins was an American original, and The Ride of Her Life gives her the tribute she deserves. Elizabeth Letts has created an indelible account of hope, loyalty, generosity, and sheer grit-and the power of a woman doing something just because she wants to do it."-Matthew Goodman, author of Eighty Days
"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
"Thanks to deeply sourced research and her own travels along Wilkins' route, Letts vividly portrays an audacious woman whose optimism, courage, and good humor are to be marveled at and admired. Upbeat and touching, Wilkins' story is the perfect pandemic escapist read."
Readers Top Reviews
aes3Siobhan S.jennif
A great ride. Would like Mohave heard more about feeding and care of the horses and very sad about the ..... well I mustn't spoil the story ...!
Hayley Clark
Really enjoyed this read. As a horse owner can really relate to the relationships annie has with her horses and dogs as best friends and that urge to keep moving along fully content with each other's company. The window into the american life at this time with the surrounding historical detail was excellent too. An escapist read at its best.
teachergrammyCindy A
I was excited to find this book as I've done some back roads traveling and enjoy books about it. I was interested especially since she was on horseback, but there was too much "travelogue" for my taste. Each time she got to a new place, there was a history of the place that got a bit long. Admittedly, some of this was needed to explain the events coming up or the changes since the 1950s. But balanced against the somewhat scanty details about Annie's trip, it got a little tedious. The descriptions of the animals and their relationships also got repetitious. I felt like the author was trying to make a longer story from scanty information. It was an easy, very casual read, not a lot of "meat" to the story, but interesting none the less. I bought the Kindle version; if I had it to do over again, I'd borrow it from the library.
LeeLee8081
In this, Elizabeth Letts’ third nonfiction book with horses playing a central role, we learn the remarkable story of Annie Wilkins. In 1954, at 62 years of age, Annie was coming to the end of her rope. Together with her only living relative, an uncle, she was barely subsisting on the tiny Minot, Maine, farm passed down to her by her mother. After her uncle died, she fought a losing battle to keep the farm afloat all by herself. The tax assessor won and she lost the farm, her home, and her livelihood. Even worse, a health crisis brought her to a doctor who told her that she had only a very few years left to live. As Annie grappled with the reality of her situation, she recalled the many times her mother had expressed a desire to see California and the Pacific Ocean. She became determined to reach the West Coast and the beautiful vistas that her mother had only hoped to see. This became her goal and her reason for being. With nothing left to lose, without resources or a car to get herself from Maine to California, and with time working against her, Annie could think of only one way to accomplish her goal before she died. She must buy a (cheap!) horse and make the journey on horseback. Never mind that it had been years since she had ridden a horse and that she had only the vaguest idea how to get to California from Maine on horseback. Compelled by her determination and her single-minded focus, she found her cheap horse and set out anyway, along with her faithful little dog. It would be hard to imagine a more unlikely trio. Wearing nearly every article of clothing she wore, Annie barely had room for herself atop the overloaded horse with all her worldly possessions piled every which way and dangling precariously by makeshift straps from the saddle. With all preparations made and nothing but fear to hold her back, Annie begins her journey naively ignorant of how monumental is the mission that she has undertaken. She caught the attention of the whole country when some enterprising journalists learned of her quest and began to publicize updates as she made her slow way across the country. Annie’s resilience and determination together with the heartwarming kindness of strangers along the way kept her going in spite of heartbreaking misfortunes and grueling challenges. Drawing from Annie’s journals, old newspaper stories, and recollections by several of the strangers Annie encountered along the way, Elizabeth Letts has crafted another inspiring book lauding remarkable achievements by horses, as well as humans and dogs. This book should appeal to anyone who admires tales of “true grit.”
Katie Andraski
Elizabeth Letts’ The Ride of Her Life keeps you on the edge of your seat as you follow Annie Wilkins’ ride from Maine to California. I kept wondering how Annie, her horses and little dog would cope with busy urban centers, the great American desert, and the western mountains. I kept turning the page. At 62 she’d been told to live out her days in the county rest home. Instead she decided to see the Pacific Ocean before she died. Not only is this a story about Annie’s journey, it’s also about America during the mid-20th century—what kind of people we were and the rapid changes being made as the interstate highway system was built and people shifted to an automobile based economy. The Ride of her Life will take you away and show that age, ill health, and loss don’t have to stop a person from pursuing her audacious dream. It takes you to a time when America was kinder and more neighborly, a time small towns had stables and it was somewhat safe to ride your horse down the side of a road all the way to the other side of the country. Even though this reader has no desire for such an adventure, reading about Annie’s during the year I was born, inspired me to consider what adventures are possible, even post 60.
Short Excerpt Teaser
Winter is not a season . . . it's an industry. -Sinclair Lewis
1954
Chapter 1
Living Color
The sun rose bright over Pasadena, California, on January 1, 1954. All along Colorado Boulevard, people had lined up early, five or six deep, in preparation for the sixty-fifth annual Tournament of Roses Parade. Pasadena's Rose Parade had originally sprung from the flowery imaginations of a committee of boosters who wanted to show off the beauty of California in midwinter, when most of the rest of the country was covered in snow. Now parade floats festooned with thousands of fragrant, bright-hued roses rolled past mop-top palm trees in the sparkly morning sun. But this Rose Parade was like no other. As the debut event of 1954, it was a fitting launch to a year that would mark many important transitions. This year, in addition to the palomino horses ridden by the Long Beach Mounted Police, the display of the crisp crimson-and-white uniforms of the Bellflower High School Marching Band, and the brilliant floats-Gulliver's Travels, Cinderella sponsored by Minute Maid Orange Juice, flamenco dancers in sequined costumes whirling on the Mexican entry-each festooned with thousands of individual fresh flowers, there was an important new addition. Two state-of-the-art NBC television cameras scanned the procession, broadcasting the first live TV colorcast to twenty-one NBC affiliates.
To show this first ever coast-to-coast color broadcast, the Radio Corporation of America had sent out a preproduction run of two hundred of their brand-new color receivers to RCA Victor distributors across the continental United States. A few of the receivers were put into strategic central locations, such as hotel lobbies in major cities, situated so as to attract the most attention for this newfangled invention. On New Year's Day, a few thousand people in selected cities scattered across the country-Omaha, Nebraska, and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, St. Louis and Toledo, Baltimore and New Haven-were able to see the golden shine of the palominos, the vivid reds and yellows of the roses, the crimson and white of the drum majorettes. Southern California, America's land of perpetual sunshine, a mild and sunny sixty-two degrees that New Year's morning, would never again seem quite so far away. It was a fitting start to 1954-the year the world suddenly accelerated.
Some three thousand miles away, in Minot (pronounced MY-nut), Maine, it was four degrees Fahrenheit and windy. Sixty-two-year-old Annie Wilkins and her elderly uncle Waldo did not have a color television-or any television, for that matter. They didn't have electricity. Their water came from a pump, their heat from a wood-burning cast-iron stove. It might have been New Year's Day, but there was no holiday from the endless chores that marked their days on the top of Woodman Hill.
The winter of 1953–54 had started out promising enough. Annie believed that she and Waldo were just about to get ahead. A good harvest in '52 had allowed them to invest in livestock-a few heifers, some gilts, and some old hens. Come spring, she calculated, they'd have enough to cover the feed and a bit to spare. All they had to do was make it through the winter. That, however, was easier said than done. Waldo's eyesight was going. He had cataracts, but the hospital said he was too old and weak to risk the surgery.
Waldo had always been a hard worker. When he'd been forced to retire from his job on a road crew for the WPA at age seventy-five, he'd set out to show them that he was not too old to work. He kept up doing day labor, whatever he could find.
But now he was eighty-five and mostly blind. When the snows hit in November, he couldn't see well enough to get to the barn. Too much glare. So Annie had to feed all the animals. He could gather firewood, but he couldn't see well enough to split it. So Annie split the wood. With each passing day, she had to shoulder a larger share of the workload, carrying feed and buckets of water for the animals, cooking from scratch over an old iron cookstove. That New Year's Day saw her standing at the open barn door, looking at the lowering, wintry sky, ticking off the months until spring. But then she chided herself. It was too early to get started on that kind of thinking. A lot of winter remained in front of her. A wriggling at her feet reminded her that she wasn't alone. Her silky black-and-brown mutt sat beside her. He tilted his head, left ear cocked up, as if to say, What now? Annie leaned down to scratch him, and he thanked her by edging even ...
1954
Chapter 1
Living Color
The sun rose bright over Pasadena, California, on January 1, 1954. All along Colorado Boulevard, people had lined up early, five or six deep, in preparation for the sixty-fifth annual Tournament of Roses Parade. Pasadena's Rose Parade had originally sprung from the flowery imaginations of a committee of boosters who wanted to show off the beauty of California in midwinter, when most of the rest of the country was covered in snow. Now parade floats festooned with thousands of fragrant, bright-hued roses rolled past mop-top palm trees in the sparkly morning sun. But this Rose Parade was like no other. As the debut event of 1954, it was a fitting launch to a year that would mark many important transitions. This year, in addition to the palomino horses ridden by the Long Beach Mounted Police, the display of the crisp crimson-and-white uniforms of the Bellflower High School Marching Band, and the brilliant floats-Gulliver's Travels, Cinderella sponsored by Minute Maid Orange Juice, flamenco dancers in sequined costumes whirling on the Mexican entry-each festooned with thousands of individual fresh flowers, there was an important new addition. Two state-of-the-art NBC television cameras scanned the procession, broadcasting the first live TV colorcast to twenty-one NBC affiliates.
To show this first ever coast-to-coast color broadcast, the Radio Corporation of America had sent out a preproduction run of two hundred of their brand-new color receivers to RCA Victor distributors across the continental United States. A few of the receivers were put into strategic central locations, such as hotel lobbies in major cities, situated so as to attract the most attention for this newfangled invention. On New Year's Day, a few thousand people in selected cities scattered across the country-Omaha, Nebraska, and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, St. Louis and Toledo, Baltimore and New Haven-were able to see the golden shine of the palominos, the vivid reds and yellows of the roses, the crimson and white of the drum majorettes. Southern California, America's land of perpetual sunshine, a mild and sunny sixty-two degrees that New Year's morning, would never again seem quite so far away. It was a fitting start to 1954-the year the world suddenly accelerated.
Some three thousand miles away, in Minot (pronounced MY-nut), Maine, it was four degrees Fahrenheit and windy. Sixty-two-year-old Annie Wilkins and her elderly uncle Waldo did not have a color television-or any television, for that matter. They didn't have electricity. Their water came from a pump, their heat from a wood-burning cast-iron stove. It might have been New Year's Day, but there was no holiday from the endless chores that marked their days on the top of Woodman Hill.
The winter of 1953–54 had started out promising enough. Annie believed that she and Waldo were just about to get ahead. A good harvest in '52 had allowed them to invest in livestock-a few heifers, some gilts, and some old hens. Come spring, she calculated, they'd have enough to cover the feed and a bit to spare. All they had to do was make it through the winter. That, however, was easier said than done. Waldo's eyesight was going. He had cataracts, but the hospital said he was too old and weak to risk the surgery.
Waldo had always been a hard worker. When he'd been forced to retire from his job on a road crew for the WPA at age seventy-five, he'd set out to show them that he was not too old to work. He kept up doing day labor, whatever he could find.
But now he was eighty-five and mostly blind. When the snows hit in November, he couldn't see well enough to get to the barn. Too much glare. So Annie had to feed all the animals. He could gather firewood, but he couldn't see well enough to split it. So Annie split the wood. With each passing day, she had to shoulder a larger share of the workload, carrying feed and buckets of water for the animals, cooking from scratch over an old iron cookstove. That New Year's Day saw her standing at the open barn door, looking at the lowering, wintry sky, ticking off the months until spring. But then she chided herself. It was too early to get started on that kind of thinking. A lot of winter remained in front of her. A wriggling at her feet reminded her that she wasn't alone. Her silky black-and-brown mutt sat beside her. He tilted his head, left ear cocked up, as if to say, What now? Annie leaned down to scratch him, and he thanked her by edging even ...
