To the Gorge : Running, Grief, and Resilience & 460 Miles on the Pacific Crest Trail
Book Description»
A heartbreaking love story, loss, grief, but above all, it's a joyous story about one woman to achieve a record on the Pacific Crest Trail.
A week after her mother's passing away, when Emily Halnon lost a shining light in her life, one with whom she shared experiences, she wanted to do something gigantic in the memory of that person: adventurous, courageous, inspiring. Her mom started running when she was in her late forties. She ran her first marathon at fifty. She learned to swim at sixty so she could do triathlons. She lived through a grim diagnosis with an extraordinary joy and strength, still going for long bike rides and long walks up until the final weeks before her death. In fact, she went skydiving on her sixtieth birthday.
Something special would be needed if that somebody was going to be honored. Having already proven herself as an accomplished ultrarunner (who was motivated to start running in the first place because of her mother), Emily decided to try to take the record for Fastest Known Time by a woman on the Pacific Crest Trail's 460 miles across Oregon. As she laid plans for her run, she started to wonder: Could she also take the men's record?
To the Gorge takes the reader through her 7 days, 19 hours, and 23 minutes on the trail, covering nearly sixty miles a day on foot over rugged terrain, and battling all the issues that could arise during such a monstrous undertaking: hammered muscles, golf ballsized blisters, sleep deprivation, alpine storms, and debilitating self-doubt. The entire time, she is struggling, too, over how to survive the profound loss of losing her mother and grappling with how to progress after experiencing devastating loss.
Interlaced throughout Halnon's eight-day endeavor are her memories from her mother's life and death, exploring the complicated experience of loss—and what shines through it.
To the Gorge will resonate with anyone whom life has hit with a hardball and has had to dig deep as they wonder how they'll pull through. Full of adventure and heart, To the Gorge invites readers to consider what our greatest losses can teach us about how to live the only life we get.
About The Author»
Emily Halnon is a writer, trail runner, and mountain athlete out of Eugene, Oregon. Her notable runs include setting the FKT on the 460-mile Oregon PCT, placing in the top 10 at the Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run, and finishing 100 milers across the Cascades, Siskiyous, and San Juans. Emily's writing, which frequently explores where running and the human experience intersect, has appeared in outlets like the Washington Post, the Guardian, Salon, CNN, Runner's World, Trail Runner Magazine, and Adventure Journal.
Popular Highlights of This Book»
The emotional heart of this book is found in Emily's adventurous and strong mother. Emily draws inspiration from her mother's life as a runner and from the courage with which she fought cancer while on the Pacific Crest Trail. The recurring theme, or mantra, of "stay brave" remains a powerful reminder of the strength she passed down to her daughter.
Trying to break the FKT record through the 460-mile Oregon Section of the Pacific Crest Trail is an incredible feat that Emily does while attempting to break the record for Fastest Known Time. The challenges she faces physically and mentally while running then go to say volumes about the strength needed for ultrarunning.
The book beautifully unfolds the process of grieving for a lost loved one. Woven with Emily's reflections about her mother's life and death along the physical journey on the trail, the story is not only about running but also about emotional healing.
Physical and Mental Challenges on the Trail – through detailed, stark descriptions of the tough terrain, sleep deprivation, and physical pain to the reader of the hardships of such an arduous trek. Her tenacity in the face of adversity well forms the core highpoint.
Community and Support – While the spotlight may be on the individual victory of Emily, the community of friends and family members, fellow runners, and more importantly, their support, is what makes her journey worthwhile. The theme of community really shows to be an important thing in that solo journey as well.
Overall Book Review»
A Powerful Journey of Grief, Love and Resilience
To the Gorge: Running, Grief, and Resilience & 460 Miles on the Pacific Crest Trail by Emily Halnon is more than a memoir—it's a tribute to love, loss, and the sheer determination of the human spirit. It was when her mother lost the battle to uterine cancer that Emily had to embark on a titanic challenge: to conquer the Fastest Known Time (FKT) for women on the Oregon section of the Pacific Crest Trail. This journey spans over 460 miles, took 7 days, 19 hours, and 23 minutes to cover, and is as much a test of emotional recovery as of physical sustenance.
Emily's mom was an extraordinary woman, adventurous, willful, always a crusader to push beyond what was thought possible, even in the face of a grim diagnosis. Her spirit-to live life to the fullest in spite of the odds- gave Emily's own resolve. This level of maternal love shown throughout the book makes it as much a story of family and grief as it is about setting records.
What makes To the Gorge special is how Emily weaves together her intense but exhilarating trail-running experience with raw, unflinching reflections on grief. Her description of the physical challenges she faced-exhaustion, muscle fatigue, lack of sleep, and the intensity of loneliness of the trail-is visceral and compelling. It's really the emotional challenges that shine through most. Grief shines through in the work of Emily, yet there is healing, with so much, at times for the reader to learn about loss and how perhaps direction comes into a life from where one least expects it.
One of the most significant lessons from this book is not necessarily a journey but grappling within herself to accept the loss that changed her soul because of her mother. The journey through the Pacific Crest Trail becomes a metaphor for her through pain—a rugged, unforgiving trail sometimes, but always to end with a path of understanding and peace. In one of the most powerful moments, she reflects how her mother's strength keeps her going even in death. Through the mantra, "stay brave," it meets her throughout Emily's experience.
The writing in the memoir is also exceptional. Emily writes a living, breathing, emotional narrative of vividness. Her voice is authentic and puts readers right into the midst of her experience—whether she is battling alpine storms or contemplating her mother's legacy. That is probably what makes the book so breathtakingly beautiful as it captures both physical endurance and emotional resilience in such a beautiful way that it somehow relates to something in the reader's own struggle and journey.
More review summations even suggest there is an even deeper impact of the book. Publishers Weekly commends Emily's clear-eyed approach toward loss, pointing out how her story stands above a few of the most commercially celebrated grief memoirs with her honest and raw portrayal of her emotions. Laurie Notaro hails the book as "a staggeringly beautiful tribute," while Lauren Fleshman maintains that the spiritual anatomy of the human heart and the power of wilderness teach us to change. Every review speaks to the deep emotional well of To the Gorge and its universality into people's lives who seek to find meaning through a bearing with hardship.
It's not a book for runners or athletes; it's for those who have lost and wondered how to move forward with their lives. It is for anyone seeking strength in the face of grief. Emily Halnon's story is the testament to human resilience and the ways we remember the people we love best. Her mother lives on in her words; To the Gorge is intimate, inspiring, and unforgettable reading.
I would definitely recommend this book to those who want to read a brilliant story about life and love and overcoming adversity It is a real reminder of the fact that, even at the darkest moments in life, we can be strong enough to push forward.
Rating According to Me_⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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