The Ride Of Her Life

I kept walking by this book at my local bookstore and finally decided to buy it. I’m not sure what took me so long, but I’m glad I decided to read Elizabeth Letts’ poignant story about bravery, how animals become our family, and how sometimes people pleasantly surprise you.

If The Ride Of Her Life wasn’t a true story, I’m not sure I would believe it. As a longtime journalist, I’ve been writing for all kinds of publications for years and I always love a good human interest story. Annie Wilkins, the 63-year-old woman with no money, no family, and a death sentence medical diagnosis, was the epitome of human interest. In 1954, she sold her farm in Maine, bought a horse, piled everything she owned (that her horse could carry) on his back, put her little dog on a long leash that could reach the ground from a saddle, and set out to cross the entire country to make it to California. With nothing to lose, nothing keeping her in Maine, and no map, she decided to change her life and bravely went for it. Some said her lack of preparedness was ignorant and that she willingly put herself and her animals at risk (this reminds me of the arguments made about Chris McCandless in Into The Wild) but Annie was out of choices and out of time. She also saved her own life.

Told in the third person by Letts – who clearly did her due diligence by driving over 10,000 miles for her research – the book functions both as a biography and a piece of American travel history with lots of road/highway history woven in, as well as stories of the kindness of strangers. In the beginning, Annie was naïve regarding so many things outside of the small, lonely life she lived in Maine. She wasn’t expecting so much traffic and didn’t anticipate how traveling so many miles on roads (rather than trails) would impact her animals. But she learned quickly and mets extremely generous and hospitable people along the way. Annie also became national news which helped her survive in more ways than one. “She had a lot of faith in the kindness of strangers, even though so many people had told her that times had changed.” Like I said before, if it wasn’t true I don’t know if I would believe it.

While some of the interwoven history was fascinating, in some instances I felt the information (which at times went on too long) distracted from Annie’s story. That being said, because Ride was published in 2021, it makes sense for the author to remind the reader how arduous travel was in the 1950s versus now – for so many reasons but especially regarding logistics technology. My biggest takeaways were that so many aspects of this book made me smile – especially the way the human and the animals worked as a team and how Annie had so much faith and appreciation for the people she met along the way. “She felt that her people were everywhere, and because of that she couldn’t fully be stranger.” Her positive attitude helped her survive and keep pushing forward. We could all learn from her.

As a newspaper and magazine writer, the parts of the book that highlight how people in towns all over the country welcomed her and treated her like a celebrity were some of my favorites. “People all over America were learning about the woman, the horse, and the dog who were trying to cross America.” Police escorts, parades, vets willing to do free checkups for the animals, local officials scheduling press conferences, hotels putting her up for the night to ensure she got rest and food – it must have been quite a sight to witness in person. “Annie didn’t know what to make of all the attention. Had all these people really come out to watch them walk by?”

Of course, the story isn’t all confetti and smiles as Annie runs into a few strangers who aren’t so nice, endures her own injuries and her animals’ injuries, handles cars and trucks speeding by her without any regard, and spends sleepless nights in the cold fighting relentless weather. In Springfield, Massachusetts, citizens judged rather than celebrated her. “People were taking sides about the wisdom of her journey; some though it was a grand adventure, while others saw it as imprudence and folly.” Anyone who knows me knows how I feel about unsolicited opinions – no thank you. Luckily, the power of the media (which has and will always be strong) mostly worked to Annie’s advantage but there were some instances where local residents didn’t want to invite a stranger into their home. “The coming of television and mass media…had an unexpected effect: it was bringing stories of crime from all over America right to people’s doorsteps.” Conversely, when Annie checked her mail along the way (old school and slower than a snail) she found letters and invitations from citizens all over the country. Naysayers be damned – she inspired people everywhere.

Two of the most interesting parts of the book were when Annie met up with a television producer who wanted her on his show and a person riding a bike across the country to visit the capitals of all 48 states. The latter had “mastered the art of getting press for himself wherever he went.” Two separate people and instances but they both assumed that she was being sponsored by someone to do the journey. The TV producer ended up helping Annie later but she was the opposite of the man riding his bike – her journey became her life and there was nothing staged about it. “She was part of a team made up of three tails, fourteen legs, and, most important, four hearts.”

While big adventure stories are usually inspiring, what set Annie’s story apart was that she was brave enough to change (and ultimately save) her own life. And she was part of a team. Horses, dogs, and the west have been huge parts of my life for as long as I can remember so it makes sense that I resonated with those aspects of Annie’s story. Reading about her triumphant journey gave me so much joy and I hope that it does the same for anyone else who reads it.

Quotes

“Annie realized that she wasn’t just riding for herself – she could carry other people’s hopes and dreams along with her.”

“That was the thing about animal friends – they wouldn’t bore you with stories of their old glory days, like some people would.”

“A love for horses transcends all boundaries.”

“Isn’t that what hope is? Not a wish, not a specific thing that you pray will be delivered to you, but merely an expectation that whatever dark, sleety side of the road you might find yourself on will not last forever.”

“We don’t like people who abuse animals.”

“By now, the friendship among the three animals had developed, and Annie amused herself as they rode, watching them converse in their own silent language.”

“She’d dipped deep into an American truth. That truth had been portrayed countless times in movies and TV shows and Zane Grey dime-store novels.”

“That’s the thing about the future. You can’t get there by imagining. You can only get there one step at a time, and the hardest part is taking that first step.”

“You can be so worried about the challenge in front of you that you fail to realize that you’ve been chipping away at it all along.”

“Annie rode with all of her sixty inches set straight in the saddle, her eyes and her heart roaming free and unfettered to distant horizons.”

“Happiness comes only to those who participate in the adventure of life, and that true security is, in essence, a state of mind.”

“When she rode off that hill in Minot, Maine, she brought her heart, her soul, her hopes, and aspirations with her, but most important, she brought her animals. Love, loyalty, and gratitude. Rex, Depeche Toi, and Tarzan. Four-footed guides in a rocky world. From them, Annie learned every lesson she needed on her journey.”