The Ride of Her Life

The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America

By: Elizabeth Letts

Narrated by: Elizabeth Letts, Tavia Gilbert

Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

The triumphant true story of a woman who rode her horse across America in the 1950s, fulfilling her dying wish to see the Pacific Ocean, from the number-one New York Times best-selling author of The Perfect Horse and The Eighty-Dollar Champion

“The gift Elizabeth Letts has is that she makes you feel you are the one taking this trip. This is a book we can enjoy always but especially need now.” (Elizabeth Berg, author of The Story of Arthur Truluv)

In 1954, 63-year-old Maine farmer Annie Wilkins embarked on an impossible journey. She had no money and no family, she had just lost her farm, and her doctor had given her only two years to live. But Annie wanted to see the Pacific Ocean before she died. She ignored her doctor’s advice to move into the county charity home. Instead, she bought a cast-off brown gelding named Tarzan, donned men’s dungarees, and headed south in mid-November, hoping to beat the snow. Annie had little idea what to expect beyond her rural crossroads; she didn’t even have a map. But she did have her ex-racehorse, her faithful mutt, and her own unfailing belief that Americans would treat a stranger with kindness.

Annie, Tarzan, and her dog, Depeche Toi, rode straight into a world transformed by the rapid construction of modern highways. Between 1954 and 1956, the three travelers pushed through blizzards, forded rivers, climbed mountains, and clung to the narrow shoulder as cars whipped by them at terrifying speeds. Annie rode more than 4,000 miles, through America’s big cities and small towns. Along the way, she met ordinary people and celebrities - from Andrew Wyeth (who sketched Tarzan) to Art Linkletter and Groucho Marx. She received many offers - a permanent home at a riding stable in New Jersey, a job at a gas station in rural Kentucky, even a marriage proposal from a Wyoming rancher. In a decade when car ownership nearly tripled, when television’s influence was expanding fast, when homeowners began locking their doors, Annie and her four-footed companions inspired an outpouring of neighborliness in a rapidly changing world.

©2021 Elizabeth Letts (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Twenty pages of notes and a Bibliography attest to the serious and thorough research by the author who travelled ten thousand miles to research this story.... What is so appealing about this nutball adventure is that the reader is taken on a trip across the United States.” (New York Journal of Books)

“The gift Elizabeth Letts has is that she makes you feel you are the one taking this trip: selecting your route from a gas station map, enduring awful weather and accidents, hearing the creak of the saddle and the roar of the trucks that pass you by. Best of all, you are the one who sees not a country divided and mean-spirited, but rather one full of people eager to console, to care for, and to celebrate the spirit of a woman who would not give up. This is a book we can enjoy always but especially need now.” (Elizabeth Berg, author of The Story of Arthur Truluv)

“This poignant, inspiring story is not just about a woman choosing to live instead of die, but also about an America that no longer exists.” (Melanie Benjamin, author of The Children’s Blizzard)

Genuine heart warming story!

Annie is an inspiring true story of a tough lady, a dream and her beloved animals. I laughed and cried. Elizabeth Letts is a wonderful writer. I listened to 80 Dollar Champion and loved that book too!

Couldn't put it down

I loved the book. I didn't want it to end.
Narration was excellent
I laughed and I cried and I felt like I knew the characters personally when I finished the book!

This is a must listen to story for horse lovers!

My grown daughter recommended this and it did not disappoint!!
My only issue (forgivable) was the Bostonian accent only occasionally being heard.
I can’t understand it anyway, so probably a good thing.

Beautifully written!!! Elizabeth captured Annie’s adventurous spirit and loving, faithful heart!!

I loved every minute of it. By the end I felt as if I’d traversed America and shared in the true spirit of American brotherhood, familiar, as I have experienced it myself.

inspirational heartfelt true story

Well written story of a remarkable woman. Amazing how Annie fulfilled a seemingly impossible dream!

What a life!

This book held mustard with me because of Annie’s’s dogged determination to hit the road with only two horses and a dog to fulfill her dream of California. She was a fighter, animal lover and keeper of her dreams, making a difference with all she met during her journey. Elizabeth Letts tells Annie’s’s story well!

Great book!

Loved traveling across the USA with Annie Wilkins and her canine and equine companions! The book is well written and well read, providing such a great window into life in our country during the 1950’s.

great read

I loved this story a great listen well read couldn't wait to get back to it a feel good story

A Truly Remarkable Story

This is a true life adventure story of a stubborn and persistent Maine woman riding her horses across America in the 1950s. Combine this with a mini history of America in the first half of the 20th century and you have a perfect story. The relationship Annie has with her animals is remarkable. What she accomplishes after receiving a "death sentence" is remarkable. The help and friendships developed along the way are remarkable. If you love horses, this story is for you. If you're not a horse person this story is for you.

Interesting, worth a listen

I found Annie's story interesting and somewhat inspiring, especially if you have ever dreamed of just "hitting the road".

Parts are heartwarming, some are funny, and some are sad, pretty much like life. As a former horse owner/lover I could relate to her love and attachment to Tarzan and Rex. As a current dog owner/lover I could relate to her bond with her dog, even though I never fully understood his name. I guess I need to see it in print.

A LOT of this book is how the United States was changing in the early 50s, the era I was born, so I could relate to much of it. The one thing that stood out is how most people across America were/are still good hearted and generous. Having grown up in rural Texas I could and still can relate to that.

I enjoyed very much the history stories the author included about different locations and events, like Cheyenne Frontier Days, Lincoln's birthplace, etc.

Having traveled much of the West via automobile I was amazed that someone would attempt it horseback, but then remembered that was the only way to travel pretty much before the railroads came into existence.