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I have been a walker all my life. I actually walked from Los Angeles to Denver, but it took me 18 years to do it. My adventures consisted of an occasional dip in a hot spring and my wife usually supported me in a car. This book is what might happen if a mixed group of people, each with his are her problems and goals, did the walk together.
Reviewed by Foluso Falaye for Readers' Favorite
A challenging walk for a shoe company from Los Angeles to Denver might just be the solution for a grieving Roger McAllister, who lost his wife of over 20 years to a plane crash three months before in 1984. On this spontaneously undertaken journey, Roger happened to be walking with five other people who had their unique problems, from considering a career change to hiding from a crazy ex, facing a challenging writing career, to having trouble talking to women. For Roger, he must contend with the guilt of desiring other women while still speaking to what seems to be the ghost of his dead wife as he endures uneven paths, shabby motels, and many surprises along the way. Alan Cook's Rocky Road to Denver follows a group of unusual characters on a walking adventure that links painful, flawed pasts with hopeful, healing futures.
Roger's struggle with loss and depression is excellently portrayed and deeply evocative. In his weakest moments, he asks his dead wife harrowing questions like, "How could you leave me all alone?" However, the theme of loss is expertly counterbalanced with humor and exciting chaos, and I found myself laughing aloud throughout. There were no boring moments, as the plot includes theft, vengeance, stalking, arrests, court cases, gambling, nudity, romance, and other intriguing twists. The story combines sad, loss-related themes with funny events and conversations, reminding us to laugh and search for humor in whatever life deals us. Readers who enjoy comical stories that encompass real struggles and sensationally complex relationships should not miss out on Rocky Road to Denver. I would read another of Alan Cook's accounts without hesitation since this one has got me completely hooked and teary-eyed with laughter.
