Refreshingly approachable guide for aspiring backpackers and casual hikers of all stripes Colorful and humorous illustrations throughout Relatable, rising female voice in outdoor literature Part critique of modern hiking culture and part how-to guide, How to Suffer Outside is for anyone who wants to hit the trail without breaking the bank. Diana Helmuth offers real advice, opinionated but accessible and based on in-the-field experiences. She wins readers’ hearts and trust through a blend of self-deprecating humor and good-natured heckling of both seasoned backpackers and urbanites who romanticize being outdoorsy, plus a helpful dose of the actual advice a novice needs to get started. Featuring illustrations by artist Latasha Dunston, each chapter focuses on a critical topic: gear, food, hygiene, clothing, and more, along with useful checklists and resources. Humorous, philosophical, and practical, How to Suffer Outside teaches casual walkers, hikers, and campers of all stripes how to venture outdoors with confidence.

"Witty, wise, and full of heart, Gail Storey’s winning memoir of her hike on the Pacific Crest Trail at the age of fifty-six is a book for every one who ever dreamed of taking the road less traveled. I Promise Not to Suffer is as inspiring as it is hilarious, as poignant as it is smart. It’s one of those oh-please-don’t-let-it-end books. I’d carry it in my backpack anywhere.”—Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild CLICK HERE to download the first 50 pages from I Promise Not To Suffer (Provide us with a little information and we'll send your download directly to your inbox) With comfortable urban lives in Houston, Texas, and career and life goals mostly accomplished, Gail D. Storey and her husband were in their fifties when they decided it was time to test themselves on a new path—a 2,663-mile path known as the Pacific Crest Trail, which stretches from Mexico to Canada. I Promise Not to Suffer is Gail's light-hearted yet heart-felt memoir about her and her husband's adventures and misadventures, deepening marriage, and reflections on being irrevocably changed by life on the trail. She was a novice hiker, while he was an experienced outdoorsman. Removed from their usual routines and living outside in the wilderness for months exposed hidden intricacies in their relationship. Hiking 20 miles a day over mountains, thirsting in the high desert of California, forcing frozen feet into icy socks and boots each morning in the High Sierra, stumbling through lava fields in Oregon—Gail was required to meet the elements on their own tough-love terms. From an encounter with a mountain lion to her mother's battle with cancer at home, she confronts each challenge with wit and brave style. While a dangerous loss of weight forces Gail to leave the PCT after 900 miles, she regains strength and later rejoins her husband on sections until he triumphantly reaches the northern terminus in Canada. Humorous yet honest, this journey of harrowing hilarity and reluctant revelations will be loved by active hikers (appendices include details of their unique ultralight gear and other essential how-to information), fans of female adventure stories, and armchair travelers alike. Want to know more about author Gail Storey? Head to her website today. Praise for I Promise Not To Suffer: “At times wrenching memoir, at times hilarious, I Promise Not to Suffer pulls no punches and has a wicked sense of fun. Storey reminds me again of what is possible with a big imagination, a dose of scrappy courage, and a lot of love.” --Peter Heller, author of The Dog Stars and Kook “Some have called Gail Storey the Nora Ephron of the wilderness. With her own unique wit, Storey shares Ephron’s commitment to creating and tending a long, nourishing marriage. I Promise Not to Suffer is a portrait of a union that does not fray or break under pressure but is forged, toughened, and tenderized.” --Sara Davidson, author of Leap!, Loose Change, and The December Project “Of the many books that I have read about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, none have captured the trail experience from so many different perspectives.Single hikers, couples, and those who stay behind will all enjoy Gail Storey’s account of the challenges, the beauty, and the PCT community found along the way.” --Liz Bergeron, Executive Director and CEO, Pacific Crest Trail Association Winner of the Nautilus Awards 2014 "Better Books for a Better World" Silver Award! Winner of the Colorado Books Awards 2014 in the Memoir category!

What!? A “Self-Help” book on How to Suffer!? You must be kidding. Well YES and NO. YES in that it’s a satirical roast of self-help books that promise everything and tell you it’ll be easy (and it never is). NO in that it turns out that looking at and dealing with suffering is the Gorilla in the room that everyone avoids, to our own undoing. And YES there is some kidding around, as a humorous approach is the best way to sneak up on the mothership of bad times: Suffering. And NO you won’t have to suffer to read it! Following the 10 Easy Steps (just do the opposite and don’t suffer) there is the Suffering Hall of Fame, and then the 6 Slippery Steps to End, or at least change, your suffering state. Chapters include: Buddha Kicks the Habit (of Suffering), The Power of Not-Now, Beyond the Roast – Let’s Get Real and The Pseudo Science of Suffering –in which you learn how to construct and use your very own Sufferometer. It’s a lot for one little book, but then again it is a subject which consumes, directs and shapes so much of what we all do, and/or try not to do, in every day life.

From the founder of the Fat Girls Hiking community, this inclusive and inspiring guide to the great outdoors will inspire people of all body types, sizes, abilties, and backgrounds.

'One of the best books I've read in the last five or ten years... Wild is angry, brave, sad, self-knowing, redemptive, raw, compelling, and brilliantly written, and I think it's destined to be loved by a lot of people, men and women, for a very long time.' Nick Hornby

The secret to happiness is to acknowledge and transform suffering, not to run away from it. Here, Thich Nhat Hanh offers practices and inspiration transforming suffering and finding true joy. Thich Nhat Hanh acknowledges that because suffering can feel so bad, we try to run away from it or cover it up by consuming. We find something to eat or turn on the television. But unless we’re able to face our suffering, we can’t be present and available to life, and happiness will continue to elude us. Nhat Hanh shares how the practices of stopping, mindful breathing, and deep concentration can generate the energy of mindfulness within our daily lives. With that energy, we can embrace pain and calm it down, instantly bringing a measure of freedom and a clearer mind. No Mud, No Lotus introduces ways to be in touch with suffering without being overwhelmed by it. "When we know how to suffer," Nhat Hanh says, "we suffer much, much less." With his signature clarity and sense of joy, Thich Nhat Hanh helps us recognize the wonders inside us and around us that we tend to take for granted and teaches us the art of happiness.

Geraldine Largay vanished in July 2013, while hiking the Appalachian Trail in Maine. Her disappearance sparked the largest lost-person search in Maine history, which culminated in her being presumed dead. She was never again seen alive.