A Journey, Sometimes Directed by Fate!
A New Member's "Pay it Forward" Experience
by WESTSTEVOAugust 16, 2006
Being a new member of BookCrossing, I entered this adventure with the perception that my activities would be a combination of “paying it forward” and the “guiding journey of fate”. After all, what causes us to choose a certain book to release or a specific
location to use? How would the outcomes differ, or our books be caught by different people, if we simply chose a different time of day or night? I recently experienced my most memorable book release so far and its journey of fate.
I was recently on holidays in the United States, hitting most of the National and State parks in Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota. I had been saving up a stack of books that I had read for a month or two, with a plan of leaving BookCrossing “breadcrumbs” (book releases), along my journey. The most memorable outcome came from releasing More Than Mountains: The Todd Huston Story: One Leg, Fifty Mountains, an Unconquerable Faith, by Todd Huston and Kay Rizzo. This is the story of how one man overcame a leg amputation and other personal tragedies to find a new life and a new dream – to set a record for climbing the highest peak in each state in America.
Within 24 hours I received a note from a fellow BookCrosser which sums up fate quite nicely. He wrote, “I love it when a book finds me. I have been a member of the highpointers club for over 20 years (since before this book was written). I have only climbed 21 of the state's highpoints (with 2 over 14,000 feet) and have enjoyed every adventure caused by this obscure goal. I look forward to reading the book and revisiting some of my own memories of these climbs. I'll try to make sure the book gets into good hands when I am done. Possibly on the Oregon coast since I have a trip planned there next month.”
I look forward to seeing the continued journey of this book and how it continues to “pay it forward”. Maybe it will inspire someone who needs a lift, to reach for their dreams?
I know that we all have our own stories of book release fate (or at least I hope that everyone can have that kind of experience…..stick with it and you eventually will). To date this was one of my most fulfilling and fateful outcomes.
I was recently on holidays in the United States, hitting most of the National and State parks in Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota. I had been saving up a stack of books that I had read for a month or two, with a plan of leaving BookCrossing “breadcrumbs” (book releases), along my journey. The most memorable outcome came from releasing More Than Mountains: The Todd Huston Story: One Leg, Fifty Mountains, an Unconquerable Faith, by Todd Huston and Kay Rizzo. This is the story of how one man overcame a leg amputation and other personal tragedies to find a new life and a new dream – to set a record for climbing the highest peak in each state in America.
Within 24 hours I received a note from a fellow BookCrosser which sums up fate quite nicely. He wrote, “I love it when a book finds me. I have been a member of the highpointers club for over 20 years (since before this book was written). I have only climbed 21 of the state's highpoints (with 2 over 14,000 feet) and have enjoyed every adventure caused by this obscure goal. I look forward to reading the book and revisiting some of my own memories of these climbs. I'll try to make sure the book gets into good hands when I am done. Possibly on the Oregon coast since I have a trip planned there next month.”
I look forward to seeing the continued journey of this book and how it continues to “pay it forward”. Maybe it will inspire someone who needs a lift, to reach for their dreams?
I know that we all have our own stories of book release fate (or at least I hope that everyone can have that kind of experience…..stick with it and you eventually will). To date this was one of my most fulfilling and fateful outcomes.
