Following Atticus: Forty-Eight High Peaks, One Little Dog, and an Extraordinary Friendship

by Tom Ryan

Overview

Middle-aged, overweight, and acrophobic newspaper editor Tom Ryan and a little dog named Atticus M. Finch are an unlikely pair of mountaineers—but after a close friend dies of cancer, the two pay tribute to her by attempting to climb all forty-eight of New Hampshire’s four-thousand-foot peaks twice in one winter while raising money for charity. In a rare test of endurance, Tom and Atticus set out on an adventure of a lifetime that takes them across hundreds of miles and deep into an enchanting but dangerous winter wonderland. An unforgettable saga of adventure, friendship, and the unlikeliest of family, Following Atticus is an inspiring tale of finding love and discovering your true self.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062088628
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	09/20/2011
Edition description:	Large Print
Pages:	448
Sales rank:	244,760
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Tom Ryan is the founder of the Newburyport, Massachusetts, newspaper the Undertoad and served as its publisher and editor for more than a decade. In 2007 he moved to the White Mountains of New Hampshire with miniature schnauzer Atticus M. Finch. Over the last five years, Tom and Atticus have climbed more than 450 four-thousand-foot peaks. After raising thousands of dollars for Angell Animal Medical Center in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, the pair was inducted into the Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Hall of Fame. Tom currently writes the popular The Adventures of Tom & Atticus column in the Northcountry News and Mountainside Guide, and the blog The Adventures of Tom & Atticus. Tom and Atticus live in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Table of Contents

Prologue x

Part I Innocence Lost, Innocence Found

1 A Door Opens 3

2 "Carry Him Everywhere You Go" 24

3 Big Changes 38

4 A Gift 53

5 "People Die Up There in the Winter" 65

6 For The Kids 84

7 The Greatest Quest 93

8 The Little Giant 99

9 Stars to Light the Way 108

10 The M. Is Important 115

11 "Our Faith Comes in Moments …" 121

12 Atticus in Disguise 127

13 The Spell of Agiocochook 131

14 Five Astounding Days 142

15 "Thank You, Friend" 147

Part III Light over Dark

16 A Heartrending Turn of Events 155

17 "I'm Not Leaving Him Alone" 165

18 The Friends of Atticus 169

19 Soul Work 175

20 Bread Crumbs 183

21 Dinner with Frank Capra 189

22 The Promise 194

Part III Full Circle

23 A New Quest 203

24 The Witch 207

25 Magic Is Where You Find It 214

26 Death on Franconia Ridge 219

27 My Last Letter Home 228

28 Those Eyes, Those Beautiful Eyes 235

29 Mount Washington 243

30 Good-bye 247

31 Heartache 253

32 The Great Art of Sauntering 261

33 Paige 266

34 Home 271

Acknowledgments 274

Editorial Reviews

Need your faith in humanity restored? Read this book. It’s lovely to learn about our higher selves from an unlikely source like Atticus M. Finch.

The Day (Connecticut)

Not your standard mountain adventure book. . . . Reading Following Atticus can feel like taking a long walk, or a series of walks, with a great storyteller. Why ‘follow Atticus?’ Because, [Ryan says], ‘Dogs, like mountains, bring you back to yourself.’

AMC Outdoors

Ryan . . . is an engaging storyteller whose humorous, self-deprecating descriptions evoke Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering American on the Appalachian Trail and John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley: In Search of America.

Appalachia

#5 Boston Globe bestseller

Boston Globe

How can you go wrong with a cute little dog who braved the White Mountains’ highest peaks time and again…over the ice, snow and sometimes deadly uncertainty of wild winter altitude in New Hampshire? Far more than just a typical man–and–his–dog account…Ryan and Atticus have delivered on all counts.

Manchester Union Leader

#2 New England Bestseller List

NEIBA

Like many unforgettable stories, Following Atticus begins with a loss. After the death of a valued friend, newspaper editor Tom Ryan sets out on a near-impossible task. To raise money for charity, he sets out to claim all 48 New Hampshire peaks over 4,000 feet not once, but twice. On that ambitious mission, he brings a companion, five-pound pup Atticus M. Finch. This singular book combines the best features of a dog story, a mountain-climbing book, and a memoir.

Journalist Ryan shares the heartwarming, surprisingly suspenseful story of his bond (and adventures) with his intrepid and loyal miniature schnauzer, Atticus Maxwell Finch. Mourning a friend who has recently died, Ryan decides to hike all 48 of the 4,000-foot peaks of the White Mountains twice in the 90 days of winter—with Atticus. Despite contracting Lyme disease, Ryan and his faithful companion embark on their journey and face a host of dangerous storms, fierce winds, and temperatures registering 30 degrees below zero. Their greatest challenge, however, arises not on a mountain but in the veterinarian’s office where it’s discovered that five-year-old Atticus has cataracts and presumed thyroid cancer and requires surgery. Through their love for the mountains they climb and their devotion to each other, along with some good luck, the pair are able to continue doing what they love the most—being together. Part adventure story, part memoir, but most important, a love story, this entertaining and joyous book proves that dog really is man’s best friend and vice versa. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

After getting five-pound puppy Atticus M. Finch, newspaper editor Ryan carried him around for a month. But they really bonded when, to raise money for charity after a friend died of cancer, Ryan set out with his dog to climb all 48 peaks over 4000 feet in New Hampshire's White Mountains—twice. Another heartwarming dog story (there can never be enough), with this one getting attention from national hiking clubs as well as Muttluks, which makes canine booties. With a 100,000-copy first printing.

Library Journal

Lyrical memoir of an adventurous New England journalist and his trusty canine companion.

Ryan spent many years single-handedly owning and operating the Undertoad, a newspaper covering the police and political beats (and their interrelated improprieties) in eccentric Newburyport, Mass. ("Norman Rockwell meets Alfred Hitchcock"). The author's journalistic exposure of local scandals didn't sit well with folks in power, however, and he feared violent retribution. Quelling his paranoia was the "commitment" of adopting an older miniature schnauzer. Sadly, his time with that pet lasted less than a year, but spurred him to adopt schnauzer pup Atticus Maxwell Finch. After a frustrating training period, Ryan and Atticus struck a harmonious human-animal rapport, a uniquely interactive relationship the author clearly reveled in. A few tastes of majestic New Hampshire mountain climbing with his brothers brought back fond memories of better days with his estranged father, a haunting presence throughout the memoir. That family hike challenged Ryan to scale all 48 of the White Mountain range's 4,000-foot peaks in 90 days with a dog Ryan fondly writes was "made for the mountains." The experience became therapeutic, transformative and spiritually enlightening for both. Without regret, Ryan retired the newspaper and, in honor of cancer victim Vicki Pearson, galvanized himself and Atticus to, again, hike the 48 peaks (twice!) as a cancer fundraiser. Rivetingly portrayed, both valiantly braved the vicious winter elements (Atticus in booties and bodysuit), but the dog's darker days were only just beginning. There's immense pathos in the frank depiction of the author's turbulent relationship with his father, both in describing his physical abuse as a youth or finding forgiveness in adulthood.

In befriending Atticus and carrying his father's memory to those serene mountain peaks, Ryan admits he discovered a rare peacefulness, a quality that underscores this touching chronicle.

Kirkus Reviews