CNN posted an article yesterday on the spiritual heritage of the AT.  The photos, with the exception of Katahdin, are all by myself or by Marcus Keck.

My newest book, The Spirit of the Appalachian Trail has been nominated for two book awards –

The Sigurd Olsen Prize for Nature Writing. 

The Crader Family Book Prize, which recognizes the single author, English language work, “which best exemplifies the values of the Crader Family Endowment for American Values: individual liberty, constitutional principles and civic virtue.”

News coverage has included the Knoxville News Sentinel and the major paper in Orlando. I was just interviewed in regards to an article in Spirituality and Health.

Assistants on the AT

Two undergrad students, now holding their degrees, assisted on the AT project – Robert Kent and Marcus Keck.  Thanks to them for their help in getting the book finished. Robert actually hiked the entire Trail after he graduated.  Check out the attached photos.

Just released in June 2102. 

Susan Power Bratton, 2012, The Spirit of the Appalachian Trail:  Community, Environment, and Belief on a Long-Distance Hiking Path, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA: University of Tennessee Press, 284 pp. ISBN 13:978-1-57233-877-7; ISBN 10:1-57233-877-6.

Investigating the interface between spiritual formation and recreation, The Spirit of the Appalachian Trail summarizes the religious and educational experiences of long distance walkers on the prototype of national scenic foot trail. The book distinguishes hikers, not just by religious preference but by frequency of religious practices such service attendance. Hikers reported gains in all four spiritual domains: personal, community, environmental and transcendent. Two chapters cover the role of the extended backcountry sojourn in environmental learning and development of environmental and social values.  The findings demonstrate significant correlations between participation in prayer and meditation and personal outcomes, such as feelings of harmony.  Greater mileage completed is positively correlated to building friendships and the overall learning experience.