Wearing a pair of Keds tennis shoes, with a small knapsack on her back, Emma Gatewood told her family she was going for a walk. What she didn’t say, though, was that she intended to walk all 2,050 miles of the Appalachian Trail at the age of 67. 

Ben Montgomery, a reporter for The Tampa Bay Times and a Pulitzer Prize finalist, heard stories about Grandma Gatewood from his mother, who was her great-niece. Always fascinated by this tale, he wrote a book chronicling her life, covering both her life and the hike that made her famous. He will be coming to Ashland University on November 5^th to read from his book “Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail”. 

The Department of Journalism and Digital Media as well as The Collegian sponsor the event, which is open and free to the public. It will be held in the Ronk Lecture Hall in the Schar College of Education at 7:30 p.m. 

The book has been well received, reaching the New York Times Travel Best-Sellers list. It has seen sales growth each month, which is unusual for books. Montgomery credits this to word-of-mouth endorsements from people who have read the book.

When he finished the book, Montgomery was unsure of how the book would be received. He had some concerns a book about “an old lady and some walks she took” would turn off many readers. However, he knew he had a good story, and had taken care to make the book a universal read, including details about her life and her marriage throughout the book. Although he didn’t know what to expect, he was glad to have written this book.

“I wasn’t worried,” Montgomery said, “I was proud to solidify this woman’s place in American history.”

Montgomery has done all he can to help promote the book, and is excited to promote it in Ohio, Emma Gatewood’s home state. Officially, April 27^th is Emma Gatewood Day, in honor of her achievements, including her contributions to the Buckeye Trail.

The book writing began when an article he wrote caught the attention of a publishing agent in New York. Montgomery, only having about 10 percent of the reporting done, wrote a proposal for Grandma Gatewood’s Walk. He then worked on the book for about a year total, all the while working full-time at the Tampa Bay Times and raising his three children. 

Montgomery said that he has a hard time writing until all the reporting is done, so he faced a tough sprint to the finish; 77,000 words in the last 90 days of his book contract.

“It was pretty hellish,” he said.

He also struggled with getting the book started. Each time he sat down to write, Montgomery began reading from the beginning, rewriting much of the first 30,000 words as he went. He said he forced himself to stop looking back at the start once he hit 30,000 words, which helped him make his deadline. 

Montgomery, still publicizing this book and continuing to work at the Times, is already in the process of working on his next book proposal.