Pack Light

A Journey to Find Myself

By: Shilletha Curtis

Narrated by: Shilletha Curtis

After losing her job due to the coronavirus pandemic, a vet tech decides to confront the roots of her childhood traumas by hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Pack Light follows a woman's journey changing the narrative of hiking while Black—because the great outdoors belongs to everyone.

This memoir will trace Shilletha's thru-hike from Georgia to Maine as she decided to confront the roots of her trauma. Growing up, Curtis suffered from a fractured family life, bullying at school, indifferent teachers, and abuse from people she trusted. Then she discovered the Appalachian Trail, which she successfully hiked in 2021. It took her eight months and four seasons to hike through 14 states, even more impressive given her lifelong struggle with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and ADHD.

©2024 Shilletha Curtis (P)2024 Audible, Inc.

Relatable!

I had the pleasure of meeting Dragonsky before reading her book. I am glad she is sharing her story because not only is it inspiring for other adventurers but she verbalizes important feelings and real experiences, some of which brought up old memories for me that I never really processed. Thank you for your truth Dragonsky! I look forward to following your journey to the triple crown and beyond!

Throughly Enjoyed Her Story!

I highly recommend this book. I couldn’t stop listening. Definitely a page turner! Very well written and a true account of what it is like to have these experiences. Absolutely loved it!!

This book provided understanding.

I'd seen some of Dragonsky's U Tube videos before starting my AT thru hike on Feb, 26, 2021. I headed north myself from from Amicalola Falls before flipflopping from Bennington, Vt in mid August '21. Someone in Vermont, a shuttle driver I think, mentioned Dragonsky, having recently met her. It made me happy that she was still on the trail. I'd seem very little diversity on the AT and only a few black thru hikers. I hiked all but 250 miles of the AT as a 68 yr old solo white women and often felt out of place. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I wonder if Dragonsky ended up hiking the PCT and CDT. She is a strong and courageous woman. Her story is a great inspiration to me. She show a lot of class and resilience. Thank you Dragonsky!

Powerful story!

I’m so inspired by dragonsky’s vulnerability, and transparency! So many people deal with anxiety and depression, and there’s so much shame around it - Shilletha’s transparency reminds us that we’re not alone. This book was beautifully written, albeit incredibly uncomfortable at times, I love how she weaves her personal story with her journey on the AT. Dragonsky is an incredible force!! 🫶🏽

Didn’t want to it to end!

First of all, imagine being so narcissistic and privileged that you give a new author a terrible review simply bc you “can’t relate” to her. Second, and most of all, the number of people that WILL relate to Shilletha will be immeasurable. Loved the way she intertwined her trail story with her personal life stories and couldn’t wait to get back in the car to hear what was next. loved hearing how she grew over time. My ONLY criticism is that it could have been longer….I could have listened to details about the adventures on the trail indefinitely! Thank you, Shellitha for your raw honesty and openness….you are an inspiration!