1100 Miles is a poetic journey about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and using this grand voyage to unpack personal issues, including sexual assault and deaths in the family, along the way. Taogoi gets right to the point using micro-poems with the date they were written as their titles. This serves as a way of guiding the reader through her journey and giving them an idea of when these events took place. Don't be fooled by their concision, each piece packs a punch and forces the reader to mull over its meaning and its depth. Each poem represents the feelings and processing that took place that day. Follow her six month journey as she walks, searches, and questions everything in an attempt to understand herself, her world and her past. After rummaging through painful memories and constant rejection, is she ready to welcome a new healthier chapter?
Scared to go down into the well of her memories, Taogoi braves her way through it anyway with such impressive brevity. Each poem is presented as a specific vivid scene of that day. There are deeper connotations than the more overt surface meaning in each poem; mixing the beauty of nature with the intensity of trauma for a very unique journey. Taogoi taps into the senses with carefully arranged words that trigger a sensory response. At the same time, she slips in relatable thoughts that give pause and an emotional break for the readers.
Packed with sensuality, Taogoi talks about yearning for touch, comfort and love. The sweet honeymoon stage of a new love followed by the inevitable first disappointing let down, followed by holding on to a relationship that has turned. Heartbreak follows, and eventually finds latent poise in herself again. There is so much growth and empowerment reflected with notes of finality and release. It gives the essence of finally coming into oneself, coming home, and enjoying life and love again. She feels at one with nature, herself, and her past.
Allie Donaldson, aka Taogoi, had no experience backpacking prior to her hike. After her grandmother died, she decided she would long distance hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. She decided to document the extraordinary experience through poetry and found The Art Of Getting Over It; Taogoi. Her experiences in life had no chance to compare to learning the lessons of the trail; pushing through pain and having to grow up fast in the intense year of 2019. Abigail Folsom was raised in the Puget Sound, braiding dandelion chains as a child and hiking the mountains with her older sister Anlya as a young adult. Abby feels her most alive when surrounded by the tall forests and the trickling of waterfalls along the trails, and she continues to find peace there. She has found nature journaling and painting to be a place for her where she can feel clear, calm, and connected to a world larger than herself.
Amidst the beauty of growing up in Western Washington, there came great pain and loss to Abigail's life. Due to a battle with depression, her older sister Anlya died by suicide at age 24. For Abigail, moving through the loss of her sister and working on the art and vision for 1100 Miles has been a journey of recovery. She sees fulfillment in this project of sharing raw humanness and growth. The illustration process for this book started just a year after Anlya died, so working on a life affirming and self-nurturing book during this time has positively impacted Abigail to choose the soul led path in life, and to be inspired by others in life seeking their own adventures.
