In My Boots

A Memoir of Five Million Steps Along the Appalachian Trail

By: Amanda K. Jaros

Narrated by: Theresa Bakken

When Amanda K. Jaros learns about the 2,160-mile Appalachian Trail after college, she walks away from a sheltered life dominated by an angry and volatile father and does something unexpected: spends six months backpacking. Alone. She expects to pass the time in the solitary and peaceful wilderness, reflecting on her life's direction. Instead, she finds herself part of a community ripe with stinky socks, buckets of ice cream, and trail magic. What matters on the trail is not a hiker's past or parents, her fears or failures, but rather, what matters is the connections we make with each other.

In My Boots recounts a challenging physical journey following the trail over the windy balds of the South, through snowstorms in the Smoky Mountain National Park, and above the tree line to the alpine zones of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The journey is also emotionally transformative as this twenty-three-year-old leaves behind the compliant and scared girl she once was. With each step away from her damaged childhood, each new friend, each stop in another rural trail town, she comes to understand that to succeed on the trail, and in life, it turns out, the path she walks must be her own.

©2024 Black Rose Writing (P)2025 Black Rose Writing

Critic reviews

“Amanda K. Jaros's In My Boots does what some of the best works of nonfiction do: it takes the reader on a journey—in this case, a journey that is as much mental and emotion as it is physical.” –Amy Butcher, author of Visiting Hours: A Memoir of Friendship and Murder

Climbing a mountain to find self-acceptance 💞

I couldn’t stop listening. I became ill while listening to this and found myself being grateful for the down time so I could finish.
Thank you for this gift of sharing your journey.
I find myself wondering if your Dad learned anything from reading this. I hope so.