Girl in the Woods: A Memoir – A Survival Story of Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail to Heal from Sexual Assault and Find Strength

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.In a story of breathtaking vulnerability and grit, Aspen discovers that the trail is a world of its own—one with its own rules, dangers, and unexpected gifts.A True Survival Story: From facing rattlesnakes and starvation in the desert to navigating treacherous, snow-covered mountain passes, this is a raw account of a solo female hiker testing her limits against the wild.A Path to Recovery: After being silenced by her family and failed by her college, Aspen walks into the wilderness to confront her trauma and reclaim her voice, one grueling mile at a time.Finding Strength in Solitude: For five months and a thousand miles, Aspen walks alone, discovering that true survival is built on self-reliance and that her own strength was there all along.Love After Trauma: A powerful testament to the resilience of the human heart, this memoir chronicles the difficult, beautiful journey of learning to trust and love again. Read more