You Are My Sunshine
A Story of Love, Promises, and a Really Long Bike Ride
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- $18.99
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
A laugh-out-loud funny true story of a loving relationship, a grand adventure, and a promise kept.
It was only a few years after the starry-eyed young couple got married when scary news threatened to take the wind out of their sails. But Sean Dietrich's wife, Jamie, wouldn't let it. She dared to hope for and plan for a great big adventure, and she made him promise to do it with her. For love and the promise of biscuits along the way, Sean--who was never an athlete of any kind--undertook the bike ride of a lifetime and lived to talk about it.
In this true-life tale, master storyteller Sean Dietrich--also known as the beloved columnist and creator of the blog and podcast "Sean of the South"--shares their hilarious, touching, and sometimes terrifying story of the long bike ride to conquer The Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal Towpath trail. As you laugh out loud through every hard-won mile and lose yourself in his signature poignancy, you'll experience a great adventure that, in the end, will remind you of what's most important in life, the value of keeping your promises, and the importance of connection in your most treasured relationships.
A feel-good read you won't be able to put down, You Are My Sunshine dares you to hope for an adventure of your own.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sean of the South podcaster Dietrich (Will the Circle Be Unbroken?) recounts cycling the Great Allegheny Passage and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath with his wife, Jamie, in this humorous memoir. While Jamie waited to find out if she had cancer, Dietrich promised her (and God) they would one day do "something big." After the results came back negative, she coaxed him into taking on a cycling odyssey, though they were "more Krispy Kreme enthusiasts" than "outdoorsy people." The author chronicles their escapades across four states and shares amusing anecdotes that include bruised butts, an encounter with aggressive turkeys, and getting caught in Hurricane Sally. Dietrich claims that "compared to other bikers, it had taken Jamie and me longer to finish the trail than it takes most people to finish a PhD," but he keeps his winning sense of humor throughout. The author's obvious affection for his wife endears: he recounts how she secretly submitted his first article to be published, and credits her for saving his life: "Before her, I was a suicide survivor, a dropout... with a considerably dim future." The zany escapades entertain, but it's the life-affirming reflections and conversations that set this apart, such as when Dietrich discusses the afterlife with a priest he meets along the trail. This inspiring volume will melt hearts.
