Today, I'm taking part in Elana Johnson's Never Surrender Blog Fest, which is meant to celebrate the release of her sophomore novel, Surrender. Before I get to my post, I'll give Elana a chance to explain:
All you have to do is blog about a time you didn't surrender. Trained for a marathon? Queried agents? Had to study for an entrance exam? I'm looking for inspirational stories that you have experienced. Hard things you've accomplished because you didn't give up. I want to be inspired by you!
Anyone who blogs this week for the theme can enter to win one of three $15 B&N gift cards. Everyone who blogs this week will receive a SURRENDER swag package.
Don’t blog? Put the cover of Surrender up on your FB wall, or pin it on Pinterest, or change your twitter avatar to the cover. Use the words “Never Surrender” somewhere to go with the picture, and link back to this post.
Sign up in this form to make sure you get the swag package. Elana will visit each blog to read your inspirational "never surrender" moments. Sign your blog up to participate in the Never Surrender blogfest linklist below.
Before we begin, here's a topographic map of the Idaho panhandle, courtesy of Google Maps:
Now, let me share a story with you:
Before we begin, here's a topographic map of the Idaho panhandle, courtesy of Google Maps:
That letter A marks a town called Bonners Ferry. It's literally about 15 miles from the Canadian border. In the interest of keeping this short, let's just say I was a pretty willful teenager, and after being expelled from a nice, college prep boarding school as a sophomore, I was shipped off to reform school, just outside beautiful Bonners Ferry.
It was a pretty dismal place. There were some nice things too, like the gorgeous landscape, but that's not the point. The point is I couldn't take it there. So I ran away. I'd actually run away from home before getting sent there. I was 16. I lived in Atlanta at the time. When I ran I caught a Greyhound bus, made it to Saint Paul Minnesota, and was own my own for about 3 weeks before I got caught. But that's not the story, I was just pointing out I was an experienced runaway at the time.
So after being at this school for about 16 months, with no vacations, I couldn't take it anymore. I was 17 by then, and I figured I was old enough to make it on my own. So I woke up one of my roommates (he'd just recently arrived), told him "let's get out of here," and we did.
We hiked through the ink black night for about twenty miles, ducking into the undergrowth beside the barbwire fences separating the cow pastures from the road every time a pair of headlights approached. It was thrilling, but it was also terrifying.
We walked until the sun came up, and then we walked some more. Eventually we found a country bar, and some people willing to give us a ride. They brought us down the highway, south of Sandpoint (see the map), and to someone's house. They put us to work, and fed us, but the whole thing was pretty nerve racking, because they were these Aryan Nation anti-establishment types, and we wondered every minute if they were going to kidnap us.
They ended up letting us go, but the next day we had to hike 50 miles south to Couer D'Alene. The whole journey was an exercise in never surrendering, but if you've ever hiked 50 miles in a day (it takes about 18 hours) you'd know that day specifically is my shining example. We had a little water, but we had no food, and it takes a lot of determination to continue putting one foot in front of the other when the sun is beating down on the back of your neck.
I ended up making it to Seattle, and hung out in the airport for a few days, trying to convince my guardians to legally emancipate me, but I ended up having to go back. The story goes on, but you've read the exciting part. Don't worry, I'll write a book about it all someday.
That's it for my Never Surrender story, but there's more:
This week, as part of the SURRENDER blog tour, you can win one of three $15 Barnes & Noble gift cards and become a winner winner, chicken dinner! All you have to do is fill out this rafflecopter widget with what you’ve done. NOTE: One of the options is to blog about a time you didn’t surrender. Go here for full details on this, including how to sign up for your free swag package!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
