Hiking Through chronicles the rite of passage of a godly man after the tragic loss of his wife to cancer that results in his personal mission to convince others to never take a spouse for granted. Paul V. Stutzman, it turns out, is Dr. Trevor Thomas (of N8 Chiropractic in Lancaster, Ohio) father-in-law from Amish country in Holmes County, Ohio. The book draws you into an otherwise private and personal pilgrimage as he hikes the entire 2,176 miles of the Appalachian Trail, beginning in Georgia and ending 5 months later high atop Mt. Katahdin in Maine. Along the journey, Stutzman, a professional restaurateur, blends his encounters with the environment, the trail, and people of the AT (Appalachian Trail) with flashbacks to his childhood, saut ed by his personal grief, and seasoned by his own spiritual renewal and manages to serve up a read that is both soul food and comfort food at the same time. My feet hurt and my body shed pounds as I vicariously hiked with this wonderful man. He became my friend. His heart for God and his Mennonite sensibilities emanate from his writing. Paul, at 58 walked away from nearly 30 years as the operator of a Berlin, Ohio restaurant, and onto his path of peace. His Amish heritage lived out as a conservative Mennonite; provide the reader a gentle, wholesome and soothing feast that leaves a pleasant after taste. Finally, near the end of Hiking Through, Stutzman serves up a surprise dessert in the form of what he believes was a personal message to all of us from the Lord. I believe you will live and love his journey I know I did!
-- Ron Grubb, Lancom Church