Girl in the Woods

"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life."

John Muir

Growing up is difficult. There is a struggle to create who you want to be, to find ways to do the things you love, to exist comfortably in a space and to fill it in the way you choose away from the exceptions imposed on you from youth. This struggle becomes infinitely harder when you are female, when violations against the space you fill are common place. Sexual assault is a rite of passage for young girls, a coming of age ceremony when we are told that any space we occupy is not truly our own, and who we want to be is influenced and impeded by violence. This is not the way it should be, but it is something we rarely can openly talk about. The violence becomes our shame.

It is refreshing to find a voice that openly describes these violent trespasses and the long roads to healing. Aspen Matis does this in Girl in the Woods, speaking candidly on her second night of college when she was raped, and experiences walking the Pacific Crest Trail in search of herself. The "story of how my recklessness became my salvation," and it is marvelous.

Part memoir, part travel adventure, and part nature writing; Aspen Matis's writing is beautiful. She speaks eloquently about the events that happened to her, beautifully of the 2650 mile path she walked, and she then ties it all together with masterful storytelling that captivates and inspires. This is a truly wonderful memoir (think Wild meets Lucky), blunt and open and incredibly inspiring. Matis gracefully tells of the hardships she faced and how she learned that the violence she suffered was never her shame, and how she found the strength to be who she wants to be.

I loved this book. I highly recommend this, to everyone. The writing is beautiful, the adventure is marvelous, and I can't wait to see what Aspen Matis writes in the future.