Author: Jill Homer
Publication Information: Arctic Glass Press. 2008. 188 pages.
Book Source: I received this book through the LibraryThing Member Giveaway program free of cost in exchange for an honest review. The book was delivered through Smashwords.
Favorite Quote: Every planned experience has its moment when expectations meet reality, and often they don't connect.
Ghost Trails is a story of a journey - physical and emotional. Jill Homer is an ultra-cyclist, participating in extreme bicycle race events. This book is the story of Jill Homer's journey on a 350 mile race along the Alaskan Iditarod Trail. Yes, a 350 mile bicycle race across the frozen Alaskan wilderness! This book is also the story of how she came to that sport and that race.
I have not followed her blog. Nor am I familiar with the world of ultra-athletes. The courage these athletes show and the challenges they choose to face are absolutely amazing. I do not completely understand it and have no intention of following in her footsteps, but it is an inspirational feat to witness. I commend her commitment to the sport. I commend her ability to pull a reader into an experience that most of us could never imagine.
The first book I read by Ms. Homer was titled Be Brave, Be Strong: Journey Across the Great Divide. That book chronicles her participation in a almost 2,800 mile race along the Continental Divide from Canada to Mexico. It completely immerses the reader in the experience of the race. This book unfortunately fails to do so. The chapters of this book alternate between the race and descriptions of past events that led to her becoming a cyclist. Each is individually interesting. However, the intensity of the race experience is broken at the end of each chapter, and that is disconcerting. I wanted to go along with her on the race and stay with that experience.
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