Book Update - Travels with Chesky

It’s been a year since I began my three-month journey around America with Chesky, and as fall arrives, I am achingly nostalgic for the trip.

The book is written and slowly moving through an editorial process. I wanted to get it out sooner, but life took over: I moved to Virginia, took a new job, and bought a house in a short period of time. Besides, to finish the trip in three months, I had to rush from place to place, and America flashed by. It took me a while to really work out what I’d seen. A well-written, meaningful book required more time and effort than I expected, but I hope the end result will be worth the wait.

Not only has my life changed since I set off last year, but America has changed as well. There is a new administration in Washington. Long-simmering issues have been brought to the fore of the public consciousness. Society feels even more divided. In the book, I talk about how the trip gave me a firsthand look at rural America and a better understanding of life out there. I hope my insights will provide a little bit of clarity to others.

I have a real job now, and spend all day in a dark interior cubicle under fluorescent lights, but I can always call up memories of the open road. I remember packing up the trailer in the crisp dawn air, and driving down country lanes with the dew shining in the sun. I remember the smell of fall in New England and of sunshine on changing leaves shimmering in the wind. Writing about it brings it flooding back: the open road, the feeling of freedom, the sense of adventure. Every day I am grateful for the opportunity to have experienced these things.

Thank you to all who have checked in on our progress. Chesky is well, but I think he misses the open road as much as I do. Sometimes he looks out the window sadly, as if he’s yearning for adventure. Or maybe he’s just lamenting the barrier that keeps him from chasing the squirrels outside in the yard. Life for dogs is simple.

In December, when the book is released, I hope you will read it and take the trip with Chesky and me.

Heather