FAQs.

Why are you doing this? There are many different origin roots, but here is one: when I was 15 or 16, in 1979, I read a book by Peter Jenkins called A Walk Across America. As I was reading the book, I had this clear feeling, I am supposed to do this. The feeling stayed with me, showing up in dreams, both awake and asleep. I would forget for a bunch of years, getting lost in lift, and then the feeling of it would come back. In the meantime, I went on other walks - working at Yellowstone National Park, walking the Cornwall Coast Path in England, and walking just because walking felt right. Woven through this recurring feeling/dream/compulsion was the sense that when I walked, it would be for something, even though I wasn’t always sure what that something would be. In my late 50s, the feeling/dream came back very strongly and this time I heard, clear as a bell, you will start walking in your 60th year. What followed was a kind of download of images and thoughts that it took me months to untangle: violence and tension and pain between kin lines in the United States, particularly white violence and disruption, the fact of the colonization of Turtle Island and a deep-seated question around what it would mean to walk this land in a good way, visions of farmlands and cities, and more. As the months have gone by, all of those images have clarified into a story or a commitment that shapes this walk. I write about that story in At the Fork in the Road because I don’t yet know how to tell it in a paragraph.

What is your route? I know some things about my route and other things will be determined by the walk itself. First, I am starting in Castine, Maine in April, 2024. The first part of the walk will move down the Atlantic coast with a stop in New York City in June to celebrate my daughter graduating from college. After the graduation celebration, I will turn towards the continent and begin to cross it. I have some ideas about routes but I am not putting out a plan yet. One element of this walk that has grown increasingly important is to let the walk define itself. You can follow along on this map which will be updated occasionally with stops along my way.

Can I join you? If you have the desire to walk alongside me for any part of the walk, you are free to do so but you are responsible for yourself. You can use the map to generally track where I am, although it won’t be a live feed. There isn’t a way to pre-plan more than a few days in advance or to let you know ahead of time where I will be on any given date. Additionally, you are responsible for your own food and other materials.

Can I support the walk? It has surprised me how often this is the question that people have asked, before almost anything else. I want to say that here because it matters, this kindness, this care. The answer is: absolutely. There are a few ways to support the walk. One is by supporting me directly through my Patreon account. This helps me pay for the cost of the walk, as well as the bills I continue to have back home. Any additional money will be directed towards local work that is in the communities I am passing through. 

Where do I get more information? You can follow my instagram page (@raffosusan) or Facebook or sign up for updates on my website. There is no clear plan for updating but I have made a commitment to storytelling as part of this walk. If you are reading this before the walk has started or in its early days, then I don’t know exactly what that storytelling is going to look like. If you are reading this after the walk has been going on for a while, then head over to social media to check it out. 

How do I reach you? You can leave a message via my website although I can’t guarantee that I will be able to respond to it. I have a friend who is helping monitor email and general communication. Depending on where I am and what is happening, it might take a minute to get a response. DMs through social media are less likely to be responded to.

Can you come visit me/us along your walk? If you live near where I am walking and the timing fits, there is a chance that I could come visit. Look at the map to see roughly where I am right now. There is no clear plan for which direction the walk is going to go so this is not something we can plan ahead but if you think you might be on my route and you want to see if I can stop by, send a message via my website.

At the same time, I am very interested in meeting local people as I walk who want to talk about the land - and that includes people/communities. This means sharing what you have experienced, particularly on how you have seen the land you know well shift and change, the things that make it hard to feel connected to each other, the stories you tell your children about who they are and how they belong. I am interested in learning about moments when people are coming together to try to make change that supports connection between and among communities and experiences. If you feel like you have something to share or that you think might interest her, also reach out via the form. In the spirit of reciprocity, she would love to see if it is possible to share what she has experienced while you share what you have been experiencing.