Hike to Alive: An Epic Poem of Trauma to Transformation - Gary E. Wehrwein

Hike to Alive strives to capture and share a childhood stricken with trauma, transforming wounded brokenness by physical and sexual abuse into a lifetime healing journey. This is an extraordinary 10-year section hike on the 2090-mile Appalachian Trail running from Maine to Georgia. nn nn Seeds of this journey began when the author was 3, and his father lifted him to the bedroom window in the dark of night and said: Look at the full moon reflection on the water. See the sturgeon jump out of the moon and splash back into the river. That early experience planted unsprouted soul seeds within his son. When the seeds began to break out of their skin, they eventually led to a firm conviction that All Life is Sacred, which in turn led to the telling of this amazing transformative tale. nn nn The story begins on the challenging knife edge where the green hiker has a panic attack and falls between four chunks of granite as if a tomb: Is this my time to die? he asks himself. Sensing a presence above him, he sees a Crow almost within reach. They engage each other's eyes. Crow touches him and feels different inside. The experience is beautifully mysterious. When our hiker gets out of his tomb, he feels reborn and dances to the summit void of fear. This military and seminary-trained hiker found himself discovering How signs, symbols, meanings of Human nature and Animal nature are connected...is hard to say.' nn nn Joined by a seminary classmate annually, these two mid-life men create a strong, trusting relationship that continues today. Each one has their own story. Each one is a Witness to the other Divine Mystery as the natural and ineffable worlds illumine individuals but different journeys together. nn nn This Epic Poem grounds the author/poet's understanding of the interplay between human and natural world psychodynamics and relationships. nn The enclosed poems combine to express struggle, pain, friendship, and joyful triumph. They reflect spiritual depth, walking with God in the extraordinary power of creation. nn nn From an airplane window, he sees the Appalachian ridgeline in the distance. He writes: nn nn That ridgeline holds my AT story. nn I'm finished! nn Melancholy? Yes. nn I soar in Glory! nn nn nn