A review by missyjohnson
The Ride of Her Life: The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America by Elizabeth Letts

3.0

Interesting story about Annie Wilkins from Minot, Maine. She decides after a diagnosis of lung disease and 2 to 4 years of life remaining, at age 65, to ride a horse across the US to California. the year is 1955. Annie has no money and has recently lost her grandfather's homestead to back taxes. She has never traveled much out of her area but is determined to ride to the Pacific Ocean. I am not really a fan of an author trying to write an account of another based solely on partial diaries, postcards sent to others, and fading memories of acquaintances. There is a good bit of history of the time added due to limited information of actual knowledge of Annie's actions. Overall it was a nice story. She became a minor celebrity in the papers and along the way. Folks showed her kindness and hospitality and actually saved her or her horses lives on a couple of occasions. She had only a sixth grade education and when you think of her limited knowledge of geography and lack of maps for the most part, she accomplished quite a feat.