Paul Stutzman grew up in an Amish/Mennonite family, married, had three children and was busy building a life and career. All of that came to an abrupt halt when his wife of 32 years died of breast cancer. After a year of trying to work through his grief, he left a management job in the restaurant business and spent almost five months hiking the Appalachian Trail. Get to know him better on his website, www.hikingthrough.com.
Q: It’s rare today to find an author who does nothing but write for a living. Do you have a ‘real’ job other than writing, and if so, what is it? What are some other jobs you’ve had in your life? Have they influenced/inspired your writing?
I retired after 25 years in food service to hike the Trail. Now I’m spending my time promoting my book, speaking to groups, and planning a new adventure and more books.
Q: What compelled you to write your first book?
I’d always wanted to write a book about “life”, but I was always too busy—until my wife died. Then I realized I needed to do something drastic to change my life and to figure out if the God I had been taught about and believed in for 50-plus years really had any relevance to my life. I set out to hike the Appalachian Trail, intending to write a book about the adventure and characters I met.
The book turned out to be something very different.
Q: Tell us briefly about your book.
The book is about the healing I found on a 2,l76 hike through fourteen states immersing myself in nature. It was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done, but also the most rewarding. It’s about the people I met and the peace I found out there in the woods.
Q: How did you feel the day you held the copy of your first book in your hands?
Aha. It was very exciting and rewarding to realize that what I’d dreamed about all these years was reality. I dropped to my knees and thanked the good Lord.
Q: What type of music, if any, do you listen to while you write? Do you need the noise or the silence?
Definitely silence. And coffee or Coke or chocolate. And activity—I pace while thinking.
Q: Is there an established writer you admire and emulate in your own writing? Do you have a writing mentor?
Edward Abbey is one writer that’s influenced my writing. Informal, humorous, makes you laugh and makes you cry. One difference—my writing has a spiritual vein that Abbey does not.
Q: When growing up, did you have a favorite author, book series, or book?
I was hooked on the Hardy books when I was a kid. But growing up in a Conservative Mennonite home with no radio or TV, I’d read stacks of books on history, mystery, and space exploration.
Q: What about now: who is your favorite author and what is your favorite genre to read?
Henry David Thoreau is my favorite author. I like to read books on nature, hiking, and biking.
Q: When they write your obituary, what do you hope they will say about your book/s and writing? What do you hope they will say about you?
Actually, thinking about my own obituary was part of what propelled me to change my life.
Now I hope they say, “He enjoyed the journey”.
Q: Where you have lived and what you have experienced can influence your writing in many ways. Are there any specific locations or experiences that have popped up in your books?
Being raised in a strict Amish/Mennonite community affected my view of God and everything else I met in life. Many of those views changed on the Trail. My book relates stories from my own past as they related to what I learned while hiking from Georgia to Maine.
Q: Is there any particular book that, when you read it, you thought, “I wish I had written that!”?
No. My thought was more that “Hey, this guy beat me to it and wrote my book.”
Q: Do you have any book signings, tours or special events planned to promote your book that readers might be interested in attending? If so, when and where?
I keep my book signings listed on my website, www.hikingthrough.com. If anyone’s in the area, stop in and chat. (OK—buy a book, too!)
Q: Now that you are a published author, does it feel differently than you had imagined?
Yeah! There’s a lot more work after the publishing than I ever imagined.
Use this space to tell us more about who you. Anything you want your readers to know. Include information on where to find your books, any blogs you may have, or how a reader can learn more about you and writing.
After hiking the Appalachian Trail, I realized there are still kind and caring and good people out there in today’s world. God’s still relevant in His children’s lives. And losing my wife made me realize how important it is to appreciate and cherish our loved ones while we have them.
In the middle of the word “life” is the word “if”. It’s very sad for someone to reach the end of his life and be haunted by the ifs–If only I had done this or What if I had tried that? Live now.
Don’t wait. We have no promise of tomorrow.
My book is available at my website www.hikingthrough.com. I appreciate readers’ feedback. You can also order through Amazon or through your local bookstore.
