Short Synopsis
A memoir of one young man's coming of age on a journey across America—told through the stories of the people of all ages, races, and inclinations he meets along the way.

Full Synopsis
At twenty-three, Andrew Forsthoefel headed out the back door of his home in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, with a backpack, an audio recorder, his copies of Whitman and Rilke, and a sign that read "Walking to Listen." He had just graduated from Middlebury College and was ready to begin his adult life, but he didn't know how. So he decided to take a cross-country quest for guidance, one where everyone he met would be his guide.

In the year that followed, he faced an Appalachian winter and a Mojave summer. He met beasts inside: fear, loneliness, doubt. But he also encountered incredible kindness from strangers. Thousands shared their stories with him, sometimes confiding their prejudices, too. Often he didn't know how to respond. How to find unity in diversity? How to stay connected, even as fear works to tear us apart? He listened for answers to these questions, and to the existential questions every human must face, and began to find that the answer might be in listening itself.

Ultimately, it's the stories of others living all along the roads of America that carry this journey and sing out in a hopeful, heartfelt book about how a life is made, and how our nation defines itself on the most human level.

"Forsthoefel . . . employs good timing and meaningful intonation to enhance his reflections on his life experiences." ---AudioFile

"A remarkable book that calls to mind William Least-­Heat Moon's Blue Highways." ---Library Journal Starred Review

"This is a memorable and heartfelt exploration of what it takes to hike 4,000 miles across the country and how one young man learned to walk without fear into his future." ---Booklist

"The ideal antidote for even the strongest bout of national doubt . . . [with] frequent descriptive gems." ---Washington Post

"Enjoy a journey across our country through this fascinating young man's eyes as he recounts and ponders the stories and life philosophies from people he meets along the way." ---Boston Globe

Library Journal Review