Girl in the Woods

A Memoir

By: Aspen Matis

Narrated by: Stephanie Tucker

Girl in the Woods is Aspen Matis's exhilarating true-life adventure of hiking from Mexico to Canada—a coming of age story, a survival story, and a triumphant story of overcoming emotional devastation. On her second night of college, Aspen was raped by a fellow student. Overprotected by her parents who discouraged her from telling of the attack, Aspen was confused and ashamed. Dealing with a problem that has sadly become all too common on college campuses around the country, she stumbled through her first semester—a challenging time made even harder by the coldness of her college's ""conflict mediation"" process. Her desperation growing, she made a bold decision: She would seek healing in the freedom of the wild, on the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail leading from Mexico to Canada.

In this inspiring memoir, Aspen chronicles her journey, a five-month trek that was ambitious, dangerous, and transformative. A nineteen-year-old girl alone and lost, she conquered desolate mountain passes and met rattlesnakes, bears, and fellow desert pilgrims. Exhausted after each thirty-mile day, at times on the verge of starvation, Aspen was forced to confront her numbness, coming to terms with the sexual assault and her parents' disappointing reaction. On the trail and on her own, she found that survival is predicated on persistent self-reliance. She found her strength. After a thousand miles of solitude, she found a man who helped her learn to love and trust again—and heal.

Told with elegance and suspense, Girl in the Woods is a beautifully rendered story of eroding emotional and physical boundaries to reveal the truths that lie beyond the edges of the map.

Fantastic!

Loved it! I couldn't wait to listen tonthe next chapter. The story is fascinating and the writing is beautiful.

Amazing!

It's such a wonderful story and is beautifully written and narrated! I hope to see more from Aspen Matis!

Not as expected

I didn’t mind this book, I understand the perspective but I think bc I’m not the age she was when the book was written I find it difficult to relate. Overall a good book, and she learned incredible lessons about herself during her walk.

It was ok

Had a hard time connecting with the author. Some of the things she does just seem like she is is very young and privileged. Maybe I just had a rough child hood.

A true story that's was tragically true.

What starts as a tragic story of innocence lost to rape becomes a young woman's long path to self acceptance and love.