Feral: Losing Myself and Finding My Way in America’s National Parks

Thirtysomething Californian Pennington sets off on a yearlong journey to visit all 62 U.S. areas designated as national parks. The author saves her money, precisely schedules her trips, modifies a minivan, quits her job, and finally sets off. Pennington seems surprisingly unprepared to be alone on her journey and has not considered the perils of solo travel. She has no built-in contingencies for illness. She has not anticipated her trip’s toll on her relationship with her partner. Her relationship breaks up, the COVID pandemic strikes, and she contracts scarlet fever. Life as she knows it unravels, and Pennington is confronted with choices she doesn’t want to make. Visiting the U.S. National Parks System becomes less a fun adventure than a chore to be completed. In the end, Pennington does not necessarily find what she is looking for, but she discovers a sense of self-worth and the belief that she—and all other people—have the right to be loved. Pennington competently narrates her own story, relating her experiences and revelations along the way.