Just Keep Walking

"Just Keep Walking" follows twelve-year-old Jo and her mother as they embark on a challenging 100-mile hike along the Superior Hiking Trail. Two years after Jo's parents' difficult separation, this journey, originally planned with her father, becomes a quest for mother and daughter to navigate their grief, rebuild their bond, and discover their inner strength. The wilderness tests them with physical pains, scorching heat, and encounters with wildlife, pushing Jo to confront her fears and learn self-reliance. This story beautifully blends an outdoor adventure with a poignant exploration of family dynamics, resilience, and the restorative power of nature, making it ideal for readers navigating family changes or seeking an empowering tale of overcoming adversity.

Wild meets Gilmore Girls on the Trail, Just Keep Walking is a story of resilience and the healing and restorative power of wilderness and nature from acclaimed middle-grade and chapter-book author Erin Soderberg Downing. Two years after her parents' surprising and painful split, twelve-year-old Jo and her mom find themselves on the 100-mile hike on the Superior Hiking Trail along Lake Superior's north shore--a journey that Jo had always looked forward to hiking with her dad. It's not a situation that either of them ever predicted they'd find themselves in, yet here they are in the wilderness with their entire lives stuffed into a pair of thirty-pound packs. Along the trail, they'll suffer through endless aches and pains, scorching heat, and crippling self-doubt. They'll encounter bears, moose, and other wildlife and meet and collect an assortment of unlikely friends. Day after day, Jo will battle the incessant thoughts that come in and out of her head. But as one obstacle after the next continue to test her strength and ultimate survival, Jo will have to confront her greatest fears head on and learn how to be alone. What begins as a journey to prove to her father that she and her mom can make it on their own turns into a quest to rediscover their strength, build resilience, and prove that they can survive--both for themselves and for each other.