Walking the Trail (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In late summer of 1989, Ellis, an unsuccessful Hollywood screenwriter suffering from midlife blues, set out to walk in reverse the 900-mile Trail of Tears traversed in 1838 by Cherokee Indians being herded by soldiers, in frigid winter, from their Southeast homeland to a reservation in what is now Oklahoma. Ellis, himself part Cherokee, says he wanted to honor those 4000 who died along the way and to rediscover the toughness of his youth. Unfortunately, neither aim is accomplished in this sexually charged and plainspoken account of his nearly two-month trek. The Trail's victims serve only as backdrop to the author's personal adventuring and respites in homes, dorms and motels. Read as travelogue and/or one lonely man's tussle with life, the book, even though exploitative of a tragic event, proves intermittently entertaining.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The forced move of 18,000 Cherokees from the Southeast to the Indian Territory of Oklahoma in 1838 is a hauntingly dark act of history that should not be forgotten. The author, part Cherokee himself, walked the Trail of Tears (in reverse) and writes of his experiences and thoughts along the way. It is a meandering, informal, and always lively account in the mold of William Least Heat-Moon's Blue Highways ( LJ 11/1/82) and other American "road" books that tell us more about the authors than they do about where they went. This one is sure to be a popular title in public libraries. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/91.
- Harold M. Otness, Southern Oregon State Coll. Lib., Ashland
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Delta (September 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385308264
• ISBN-13: 978-0385308267
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #748,194 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Am the Author, January 29, 2005

By	Jerry L. Ellis (Fort Payne, Alabama) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Walking the Trail: One Man's Journey along the Cherokee Trail of Tears (Paperback)

This is a formal thank you to readers over the past fourteen years since Walking the Trail was first published by Delacorte Press and nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. My driving force for walking the Trail in 1989 was to inform the world about the horrible history of my Cherokee ancestors. It was also a very private need to try to more deeply connect with my heritage, my Indian heart and soul. I sold almost everything I owned to finance this pilgrimage and took a bus to Oklahoma to begin the 900 mile walk back home to Fort Payne, Alabama. (The town gets its name from the fort--concentration camp--built to imprison the 1,100 of this area.)It is also the town where Sequoyah lived when he invented the Cherokee alphabet. My journey was blessed and filled with many loving people and extraordinary events. Since the book was published, I have lectured about the Trail of Tears throughout the US, Asia and Europe. All along my journey, people gave me items to bury as prayer offerings when I returned home for those who died on the Trail on 1838. They are now buried by the Sacred Oak within sight of my home in Fort Payne, Alabama. This fall, 2005, my wife and I will open a writers' retreat--The Tanager Center for Creative Endeavors--which will try to further honor the Cherokee and their values, values that are endangered by this exciting but questionable Modern Age. The Center sits on 200 wooded acres on a hill overlooking the valley where Sequoyah lived. Again, thank you readers for coming on the journey with me and the spirits of my ancestors from the Trail of Tears. May your treks through life be equally blessed.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling, honest and heart-felt journey of enlightenment., February 2, 1999

By A Customer

Ellis walked 900 miles to honor his Cherokee roots and I--a Cherokee whose ancestors walked the Trail of Tears in 1838--felt that I was with him the whole way. His easy poetic style of writing made everthing come alive and I still see the people he met, his tent and campfires at night. Best book on the Trail and its history I ever read.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Touched by this book, August 1, 2000

By	Kay T (AR) - See all my reviews

Ellis is a strange mix of an adventurer, a lover, and a holy man. He takes the mundane ennui of walking along a dirty highway to an ethereal plane, ever loyal to his ancestry. His sensual nature touches, shocks, and comforts. He is able to make us see on two levels without appearing hokey or superficial. He doesn't wince at the supernatural, but rather takes it for its own worth.

All Cherokees--in fact all Indians--should applaud his efforts. I live a few miles from where he walked in Gravette, AR, but I will not drive that highway again without thinking about the Trail of Tears.