Distant Skies

On the first of May 1982 23-year-old Melissa Chapman climbed aboard a horse, carrying a puppy named Gypsy, and rode away from everything, heading west. She left a happy, healthy family, a decent job, a boyfriend she cared about, and friends she enjoyed. Yet she said good-bye to all of it. With no cell phone, no GPS, no support team or truck following with supplies, Chapman quickly learned that the reality of a cross-country horseback journey was quite different from the fantasy.Her solo adventure would immediately test her mental, physical, and emotional resources as she and her four-legged companions were forced to adapt to the dangers and loneliness of a trek that would span over 2600 miles, beginning in New York State and reaching its end on the other side of the country, in California.Enchanted by the freedom a nomadic life seemed to promise, the young woman would soon find herself only more deeply connected...to the animals that accompanied her, to the varying and challenging landscapes through which she traveled, and to the people she met on the farms and back roads that crisscross the United States. Her tale is part American road trip, part coming-of-age story, and part ode to the horse--a remarkable memoir that explores the evolution of the human-animal relationship, along with the raw beauty of a life lived outdoors.