Module 6 Blog

In order to gain a reader’s trust, it is important for an author to establish who they are and what they have to say. According to Thompson’s Travel Writing, “Travel writing has frequently provided a medium in which writers can conduct an autobiographical project, exploring questions of identity and selfhood whilst simultaneously presenting to others a self-authored and as it were ‘authorized’ account of themselves” (Thompson 99). By clearly defining the intention behind their choice to travel, what they hope to gain from the trip, and what led them to make this choice, the author gives the audience a peak into their life, exposing their inner thoughts and desires. It is this honesty that leads a reader to feel connected to the author and invested in their story, ready to follow them as they recount their literal and metaphorical journey. Strayed’s choice to start her book off with a snippet from her story helps grab the reader’s attention, making them wonder how she got there, alone in the mountains with no shoes. As she stands on the edge of a cliff, she ponders what to do with one boot since the other had fallen: “What is one boot without the other boot? It is nothing. It is useless, and orphan forevermore, and I could take no mercy on it… I lifted it high and threw it with all my might and watched it fall into the lush trees and out of my life” (Strayed 3). In this sentence, Strayed empathizes with her single boot, calling it an orphan, but ultimately lets go of it because it no longer serves her any purpose. This gives the reader a glimpse of the journey they are about to witness, the journey of a woman letting go of things that were holding her back, despite how much she used to depend on them and how much she would miss them.