Standing Strong After My Famous Walk Across America
BY BARBARA JENKINS
From the New York Times bestselling co-author of The Walk West comes Barbara Jenkins’ long-awaited tale, revealing the story of her walk across America, a journey that captured the national media spotlight. From the untold narrative of her impoverished Ozarks hillbilly upbringing, to the crushing aftermath of the walk and her journey toward newfound courage and strength, So Long As It’s Wild is her story.
As a child growing up in the wild beauty of the Ozarks, Barbara often spent her days exploring outside and daydreaming of faraway places in order to escape a life of poverty. She longed to trade her homemade clothes and outdoor toilet for spectacular adventures around the world. That chance came in the form of a wild-eyed, long-haired “viking” young man named Peter.
After an exciting courtship and a wedding on a dime, the young couple departed on foot from New Orleans on July 5, 1976, heading toward the Pacific Coast. News of the couple’s expedition spread like wildfire, landing them on the cover of National Geographic Magazine and in countless other publications. Soon after beginning their nearly three-year journey, Barbara realized the funny, adventure-seeking, charismatic man she married was not the loving partner she thought, but she was well down the rocky path to the Oregon coast by his side. Whether facing aggressive renegades, a life-threatening fall from Engineer Pass, or a devastating heartbreak that caused her to feel lost and alone, she did it all with grit and determination.
Despite the newfound fame and the bestsellers she coauthored, The Walk West and The Road Unseen, Barbara’s side of the story of that infamous walk was left in the shadows. In her own words, she said of that time, “We appeared on magazine covers, were guests on radio and television programs and appeared in newspapers everywhere. International fame and good fortune followed until it evaporated into a trail of heartbreak, a thousand deaths, and my disappearance.” Now Jenkins is telling the rest of the story, sharing her perspective on what took place from the bayous of Louisiana to the Pacific Ocean, and beyond.
With lyrical, transportive prose, So Long as It’s Wild: Standing Strong After My Famous Walk Across America is one woman’s tale, stepping out from the mountain of the man she had followed, to find her voice and claim her story.
Other Retailers
Product Details
- Publisher: Dexterity (September 11, 2023)
- Length: 304 pages
- ISBN: 9781947297715 (Jacketed Hardcover)
- ISBN: 9781947297722 (eBook)
- ISBN: 9781947297739 (Audiobook)
Browse Related Books
- Nonfiction > Biography & Memoir
About the Author
BARBARA JENKINS grew up in the wild beauty of the Ozarks with no running water and homemade clothes. The first in her family to go beyond an 8th grade education, she worked on her Master’s at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. She shot to fame in 1976 with her then-husband for their ambitious walk across America. That journey became the inspiration for their New York Times bestseller The Walk West, selling over 12 million copies.
She has since published a number of other books, including The Road Unseen, a Gold Medallion Book Award winner. Her writing and entrepreneurship has been featured on Good Morning America, Reader’s Digest and more. Jenkins has traveled the country as a motivational speaker at universities, conventions, and other events about her story. When she is not writing, speaking, or traveling, Jenkins loves spending time with her granddaughters, Josephine and Lyla. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
Book Club Discussion Guide
Download the Get Off the X discussion guide here.
Reviews and Endorsements
“Barbara Jenkins is still standing strong after her famous walk across America. What an inspiring book. I always try to read as many books as I can about women who inspire others with their contribution to society. Barbara has certainly lived it all, done it all, and done it again by putting this book together. So Long as It’s Wild is a book of endurance, grit, love, compassion, and spiritual and physical energy. What a blessing. I hope it touches you as much as it has me.”
—Dolly Parton
“Barbara Jenkins’ unique and honest perspective of her walk across America will inspire women and girls everywhere to know that their story is worth telling.”
—Connie Britton
“From the swamplands of the south and across America – step by step you will be on the journey with Barbara Jenkins. Her grit and outlook on life are inspiring and bring healing and perspective to any generation. She was born a gifted soul turned writer, and her story was meant to be shared.”
—Bridget Connelly, Founder/CEO of Luna Bay Company
“After reading Barb’s story I was carried away by her adventure, grit and grace and felt like we became dear friends. I didn’t want the story to end.“
—Hilary Swank, Academy Award Winning Actress (Boys Don’t Cry and Million Dollar Baby)
“A grand adventure. She makes you want to ensure that you’re telling a good story with your life. It’s a profound thing to learn so much about your mother, who she was when she was in love and what it was like to watch her dreams crumble and new dreams emerge. And she came out on the other side even stronger. I am in awe of her and her story.”
—JEDIDIAH JENKINS, New York Times bestselling author of To Shake the Sleeping Self and Like Streams to the Ocean
“Jenkins’s narrative of her epic journey has a cinematic sweep. . . It’s an engrossing reminiscence.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Fans of Tara Westover’s Educated or Cheryl Strayed’s Wild will be captivated by this inspirational journey of self-discovery and reinvention.”
—Library Journal
