After a thousand miles of solitude, she found a man who helped her learn to love and trust again - and heal. On the trail and on her own, she found that survival is predicated on persistent self-reliance. Exhausted after each thirty-mile day, at times on the verge of starvation, Aspen was forced to confront her numbness, coming to terms with the sexual assault and her parents' disappointing reaction.

A nineteen-year-old girl alone and lost, she conquered desolate mountain passes and met rattlesnakes, bears, and fellow desert pilgrims.

In this inspiring memoir, Aspen chronicles her journey, a five-month trek that was ambitious, dangerous, and transformative. Her desperation growing, she made a bold decision: She would seek healing in the freedom of the wild, on the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail leading from Mexico to Canada. Dealing with a problem that has sadly become all too common on college campuses around the country, she stumbled through her first semester - a challenging time made even harder by the coldness of her college's 'conflict mediation' process.

Overprotected by her parents who discouraged her from telling of the attack, Aspen was confused and ashamed. On her second night of college, Aspen was raped by a fellow student. 'Girl in the Woods is Aspen Matis's exhilarating true-life adventure of hiking from Mexico to Canada- a coming of age story, a survival story, and a triumphant story of overcoming emotional devastation. On the trail she found her strength, and after a thousand miles of solitude, she found a man who helped her learn to love and trust again - and heal.X, 372 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : 24 cm Exhausted after each thirty-mile day, at times on the verge of starvation, Aspen was forced to confront her numbness, coming to terms with the sexual assault and her parents’ disappointing reaction. Dealing with a problem that has sadly become all too common on college campuses around the country, she stumbled through her first semester - a challenging time made even harder by the coldness of her college’s 'conflict mediation' process. Overprotected by her parents who discouraged her from speaking of the attack, Aspen was confused and ashamed. Girl in the Woods is Aspen Matis’s exhilarating true-life adventure of hiking from Mexico to Canada - a coming-of-age story, a survival story, and a triumphant story of overcoming emotional devastation.

Girl in the Woods by Aspen Matis