Windswept: Walking the Paths of Trailblazing Women

Annabel Abbs's Windswept: Walking the Paths of Trailblazing Women is a beautifully written meditation on connecting with the outdoors through the simple act of walking. In captivating and elegant prose, Abbs follows in the footsteps of women who boldly reclaimed wild landscapes for themselves, including Georgia O'Keeffe in the empty plains of Texas and New Mexico, Nan Shepherd in the mountains of Scotland, Gwen John following the French River Garonne, Daphne du Maurier along the River Rhône, and Simone de Beauvoir--who walked as much as twenty-five miles a day in a dress and espadrilles--through the mountains and forests of France.

Part historical inquiry and part memoir, the stories of these writers and artists are laced together by moments in Abb's own life, beginning with her poet father who raised her in the Welsh countryside as an "experiment," according to the principles of Rousseau. Abbs explores a forgotten legacy of moving on foot and discovers how it has helped women throughout history to find their voices, to reimagine their lives, and to break free from convention.

As Abbs traces the paths of exceptional women, she realizes that she, too, is walking away from her past and into a radically different future. Windswept crosses continents and centuries in a provocative and poignant account of the power of walking in nature.

Author: Annabel Abbs
Publisher: Tin House Books
Published: 09/07/2021
Pages: 392
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.22lbs
Size: 8.83h x 5.81w x 1.43d
ISBN: 9781951142704


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 06/14/2021
Booklist 08/01/2021 pg. 18

About the Author
Abbs, Annabel: - Annabel Abbs is an award-winning author and journalist. She writes regularly for a wide range of newspapers and magazines and lives in London, with her husband and four children. Her novels, The Joyce Girl and Frieda, were published to great acclaim.