Following Atticus

Oct 6, 2024 2:24 PM

Author:Thomas F. Ryan

Following Atticus

Following Atticus is Tom Ryan's moving true story, of a man and his remarkable dog.

Tom Ryan is a middle-aged, overweight, no-nonsense newspaper editor. But when Atticus M. Finch, a Miniature Schnauzer, arrives, he is forced to question everything about his life.

Wanting to raise money in memory of a friend who died of cancer, Tom decides that they will both climb 48 of New Hampshire's mountains during a single winter - twice.

What awaits the pair is the adventure of a lifetime.

In an enchanting but dangerous winter wonderland, they face raging blizzards, frostbite and storms. It is a rare test of endurance that soon becomes a soul-searching journey.

And then, within a month of returning home, tragedy strikes. Atticus goes blind, and the blood tests suggest something even worse. Now facing an even greater challenge, Tom and Atticus undertake a journey through darkness and into light.

For anyone that loved Marley and Me, Following Atticus by Tom Ryan is a heartwarming story of friendship, selflessness, redemption -- and above all, love.

Tom Ryan worked as an editor until 2007, when he decided to sell his newspaper move to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. He started climbing in memory of a friend who died of cancer, and in the last five years has climbed an incredible four hundred and fifty 4,000-foot peaks.

Reviews

A gripping account of the history of quantum mechanics and a clear description of its significance - and weirdness. Absolutely fascinating

—— Isaac Asimov

Precise yet mysterious... as beautiful as a poem and as exciting as a novel

—— The Sunday Times

Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it

—— Niels Bohr

The edgelands, where the veneer of civilisation peels away, are the most despised and ignored of landscapes. Ambition turns to dust in the sewage farm and landfill site. But Farley and Roberts's mischievous and elegant forays into these marginal wastes, show that dust turns back to life in them - into riotous ecologies, agitprop architecture and the wonderful business of playing. A provocative, left-field read

—— Richard Mabey

Haunting, often inspiring book...Edgelands covers an impressive range of politics, reminiscence, investigation and rumination

—— Scotland on Sunday

Edgelands delights with its sly, impish wit and observation

—— Spectator

Eye-opening and hugely enjoyable book ... overall this is an original, surprising and rather wonderful addition to our literature of place

—— Sunday Telegraph

A book that begs us to use our imaginations; to appreciate what we pass by every day but never really see

—— Metro

This is a delightful and important book. By focusing on the fringes, on the shabby reality of suburban life, these poets remind us that there are always new myths for old, that the 'edgelands' may even be our true centre

—— John Greening , Country Life

With chapters on paths, dens, wastelands, business parks and many other topics, this book has opened my eyes to all kinds of things I might not have noticed before

—— Wendy Cope , Daily Telegraph

A 2011 favourite

—— Wendy Cope , Observer, Books of the Year

The year's most unusual travel book

—— Tom Chesshyre , The Times

[An] eye-opening and hugely enjoyable book

—— Daily Telegraph

Written in a delectable prose that scatters flashes of poetry over a sardonic undertow of social comment, Edgelands is a lyrical triumph. On Britain’s grotty margins, the duo trace “desire paths” to find beauty and mystery in the rough darkness on the edge of town

—— Boyd Tonkin , Independent

Throw out your old atlas. The new version is here

—— Walter Kirn (author of UP IN THE AIR)

Kasarda ... and Lindsay convincingly put the airport at the centre of modern urban life

—— Economist

Highly recommended

—— Library Journal

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