Pathfinding: One Mother's Journey from Wilderness to Freedom
By: Kerri Andrews
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LoveReading’s Best Books of the Year 2025
From the author of Wanderers: A History of Women Walking
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Can one new mother rediscover a path back to the hills and to freedom?
‘Left me itching to lace up my boots and follow the call of the path.’ Laura Pashby, author of Chasing Fog
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In the wake of the complete upheaval of becoming a mother, walker Kerri Andrews finds herself carrying the idea that maybe the hills are no longer for her.
Yet, what she soon discovers are tales of mother-walkers that have long been neglected or hidden away. And with it a sense that there may be a way back into the mountains for her too.
So Kerri begins small, joined on walks on beaches and in cities by women who have also experienced profound changes to their sense of themselves and their bodies. And as Kerri’s journeys become increasingly ambitious – the valleys and peaks of her past beckoning – it becomes clear that these wild places could be hers once more. That there may indeed be a way back to the mountains, and to freedom.
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‘Bold, brave’ Helen Jukes, author of Mother Animal
‘Powerful and unflinchingly honest’ Annabel Abbs, author of Windswept
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‘What a bold, brave book this is. Andrews’ journeys, written with eloquence, honesty and style, have the feeling not of escape so much as encounter – with the landscapes she moves through, and with the lives of walking mothers past and present. Through these encounters, Andrews seems to find new space for herself. I had the feeling, as I read, that she might be clearing a path for us all.’
- Helen Jukes, author of Mother Animal -
‘Powerful and unflinchingly honest, Andrews probes the complexities of motherhood, ultimately finding hope and salvation in companionship, landscape and all those meticulously researched women in whose footsteps she walks.’
- Annabel Abbs, author of Windswept: Why Women Walk -
‘A compelling exploration of the creative ways in which mother-walkers have navigated matrescence. As Kerri Andrews leads the reader over hills and along the shore, she reveals how – through walking – she recovered and redefined a self subsumed by motherhood. This book left me itching to lace up my boots and follow the call of the path.’
- Laura Pashby, author of Chasing Fog -
‘A hugely important book, written with an honesty and a precision that is as welcome as it is rare. I was with her every step of the way.’
- Matt Gaw, author of In All Weathers -
‘Andrews’ lyrical nature writing leaps off nearly every page—the dark grey clouds gathering on the horizon, the geological stripes on the Scottish mountains, the dappled sunlight shining through the trees … Press this book into the hands of any mother and she will see herself on these pages, walker or not.’
- LoveReading -
‘Ultimately, this is a book about a love of walking – in high places of wanderlust, lowlands to allow for healing, or simply for the joy of getting outside … If you feel like you’ve lost your way, amid the mountain narrative, Pathfinding may help you to place yourself once again.’
- The Great Outdoors -
‘I cried, I laughed, I reflected. It was a pleasure following along with Kerri’s journey and I was right there with her. It reinforced how incredibly grateful I am to be a mum and have adventuring in my life.’
- Mountaineering Scotland -
‘A seductive book that leads us as close to the nature and people of an intriguing place as words can.’
- Tristan Gooley, author of How to Read a Tree -
‘This book brings welcome compassion for the frailties of the human body, especially one that has endured pregnancy and birth … Despite the pain and restriction, there is joy and freedom to be found in walking and parenting. Andrews has laid out an invitation that will leave you desperate to step outside.’
- Resurgence & Ecologist
