Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail

Montgomery introduces listeners to Emma Gatewood, a woman who walked the length of the Appalachian Trail at age 67 in 1955 and twice more in the decade that followed. By her amazing feats, she secured attention and interest in a decaying national treasure and helped preserve it. Through research, interviews, and journals accounts, Montgomery pieces together Gatewood’s physical journey, interspersing it with her life story and the challenges that lead her down the Appalachian trail. Reader Lawlor has a warm and inviting voice that is soft but deep. It invites the listener to follow along in Gatewood’s journey. He provides a good cadence, combined with a strong emphasis and warm delivery. He fleshes out Montgomery’s prose with a bit more personality and enthusiasm than the text has on its own, which makes the production more enticing. His character voices are not impressive, but that hardly detracts from the listening experience since the story is focused entirely on Gatewood. A Chicago Review hardcover. (Dec.)