Deep travel has a way of shaking things loose. When you step away from the who you are in your everyday life, deeper questions can rise to the surface.
This week on Writing the Heart, we’re exploring Jedidiah Jenkins’s memoir, To Shake the Sleeping Self, the story of his 2011 bicycle trip from Oregon all the way to Patagonia.
While the external journey across thousands of miles is remarkable, it’s the internal trek that makes the book special. Heading south, Jedidiah begins untangling the fundamentalist Christian upbringing he inherited and learns to embrace his identity as a gay man. Mile by mile, he explores and redefines for himself what faith, family, and home mean to him.
This is the kind of writing I love most: where the road “out there” unlocks the road to our own heart and mind.
In today’s video, I break down his story and share three passages from the book to kick-start your own writing. Pick whichever prompt speaks to you, set aside any expectations, and just follow where your pen wants to go.
You can watch the full video below. To receive these entries twice a week and support the publication, consider becoming a paid subscriber to The Seeker.
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