Pathfinding

On Walking, Motherhood and Freedom

Kerri Andrews author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Elliott & Thompson Limited

Publishing:13th Mar '25

£16.99

This title is due to be published on 13th March, and will be despatched as soon as possible.

This hardback is available in another edition too:

Pathfinding cover

The desire to walk is something that defines us, bringing joy, connection and freedom. But what happens to all this when we become mothers?


From the author of Wanderers, comes an urgent exploration of what it means to rediscover ourselves through the land we walk and the people we walk alongside.

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In the wake of the complete metamorphosis of becoming a mother, Kerri Andrews determines to undertake a series of journeys on foot to understand what has happened to her. 


Alongside a backpack full of supplies, Kerri carries with her the shadow of post-natal depression and the idea that maybe the hills are no longer for those, like her, who bear the mental and physical scars of childbearing and childrearing. 


Yet, what she soon discovers are tales of mother-walkers that have long been neglected or hidden away. From Mary Wollstonecraft and Ellen Weeton to Kate Chopin, here are women whose urgent stories offer new ways of stepping into motherhood.


 As Kerri traverses urban, rural and increasingly mountainous landscapes in the North West and Scotland, she is joined by women who have also experienced the profound changes that having children can bring to bodies and minds. Together, they explore the complicated ground of motherhood today – balancing enormous responsibility and upheaval with ambition, rage and hope – creating new paths as they go. 

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‘Left me itching to lace up my boots and follow the call of the path.’ Laura Pashby, author of Chasing Fog 


‘Bold, brave... I had the feeling, as I read, that Kerri Andrews might be clearing a path for us all.’ Helen Jukes, author of Mother Animal 


‘Powerful and unflinchingly honest’ Annabel Abbs, author of Windswept: Why Women Walk

‘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

ISBN: 9781783968428

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

224 pages

New edition