The World We Left Behind

After his long-term relationship with his girlfriend ended painfully, John Morris found himself adrift with no compass to help point him towards what should happen next. As days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, John found himself struggling more and more to find purpose in his life. But as the days passed heavy with doubt, and the nights often swirled to an alcohol-soaked end, he slowly began to realize a simple truth: he was desperately unhappy. Instead of diminishing as time passed, John found his discontent kept growing, along with his notion of hiking the entire 2,168-mile expanse of the Appalachian Trail in an attempt to find a better understanding of what he was meant to do with his life. So, quitting his job and putting his current relationship on hold, John (a.k.a. Morris the Cat)—accompanied by his friend Torry, his journal, and his camera—set out in search of some answers.

The message in The World We Left Behind is one that seems to resonate with a huge portion of the population, no matter their gender, their job, or their financial position, and Morris’ struggle to achieve enlightenment while being challenged continually by forces over which he has no control, is a situation that speaks to the internal battle that rages in many of us.

Nonetheless, I struggled with the execution of Morris’ travels. Because the author isn’t an experienced writer, the conflicts he describes between certain characters’ behaviors often come across as inconsistencies, which prove confusing to the reader. Also, while the author does an admirable job of portraying the trail culture between hikers, there’s little to no description of the trail itself, or the scenery that the author is traveling through. The message of this book is poignant, but the execution of it needs a little work.