NoCo September Book Club

WHAT MAKES A LIFE WORTH LIVING?

At forty-five, Becky Jensen was raising two sons, engaged to be married, living the dream in Colorado. She was also suicidal and had no idea why. What did she have to be depressed about?

The question haunted Jensen, leading her to take a bold step: to hike the five-hundred-mile Colorado Trail in search of answers. Leaving everyone and everything behind, Jensen shouldered a backpack loaded with camping gear, her father's ashes, and the inherited burdens of womanhood-trudging off alone into no man's land.

In this unflinchingly honest memoir, Jensen confronts dangers lurking in the wilderness, including her own internalized misogyny, repressed memories, and suppressed outrage about her undervalued gender. With each mile, she sheds the weight of female conditioning and begins to carry herself differently, finding the strength and clarity to determine not just if she wants to live, but how.

Raw and relatable, No Man's Land will resonate with readers who habitually put their own needs last, crave change in their lives, and seek nature as medicine.

No Man's Land is equal parts gripping survival story, midlife reckoning, and lush nature writing. Perfect for readers who seek memoirs written by women about women, and who are eager for more books like Cheryl Strayed's Wild.

No Man's Land is a female-forward memoir set in the rugged mountains of Colorado. It tackles themes of:

triumph over adversityresilience and personal growthhealth, relationships and personal developmentpsychology of genderself-worth and mental healthover-mothering and martyrdomageism and gender role conditioningthe power of nature to heal, nature therapygrief, loss and connectionwomen's health and safetyfemale empowerment, finding your voicewomen in the outdoors