Squatter: One Woman’s Journey to Reclaim her Spirit on the
Ice Age Trail
Yolanda DeLoach
Memoir
Cornerstone Press, January 31, 2024, 288 pages
Print $28.95
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About the Book
“I’m emotionally not in a good place.”
So begins Yolanda DeLoach’s raw and redemptive Squatter,
a tale of trails, trekking, and overcoming trauma. Between heartache
and the realization that a relationship was never as it seemed, DeLoach
pushes herself toward Wisconsin’s historic Ice Age Trail, a place of friendship
and, ultimately, forgiveness. But the forgiving starts from within, as she
makes her way, section by section, along the trail’s storied footways.
Honest, heartfelt, and told with a survivor’s grace, Squatter
inspires, encourages, and listens, like a good friend on the trail.
My Review
DeLoach’s memoir about using
time on Wisconsin’s Ice Age Trail to work through an abusive relationship is a
harrowing but restorative read. The author spends the first several chapters
explaining her situation in gritty detail, inviting the reader into her chaotic
and emotional life. She lays out her need for balance in order to get away from
not only the personal torture of a relationship gone badly wrong, but also the
trauma of the Sars-Covid 19 epidemic in the life of a nurse. The outdoors was a
haven to many during this time.
The story seems both too short
and yet deep as DeLoach shares her very recent journey to learn more about
herself. The lessons are valuable for anyone struggling with problematic
decision-making issues. Professional therapy and general support can only go so
far to help people who have a deep-seated need to seek fulfillment in
personally damaging ways. DeLoach takes her time showing us her angst and
trauma; readers who are sensitive to psychological abuse should be cautious. By
the time the author shares her adventures on the trail, we’re invested in her
commitment to take control of her addictive behavior and to conquer the trail.
After 800 miles, DeLoach finds her trail name, “Squatter,” when she invites
herself to share the warmth of a fellow hiker’s heated tent instead of her own
solo tent.
DeLoach replaces adrenalin highs
of demanding people with physically and emotionally demanding elements of
hiking all the trail segments she could between work and home life, through all
seasons, over the course of a year. From making new trail buddy friends, to
staying in friends’ garages while hiking sections, to campgrounds, to elegant homes,
to monasteries, the author completes goals she sets for herself. “This time was
different,” she says after completing the northern route. “This time, I had the
trail. And the trail was magic.”
DeLoach is candid in admitting
that she didn’t want her adult and teen children involved in her problems, but
that she needed to work on being more open. I was relieved to read that,
because she had teen daughters at home while practicing risky behavior and the
mom in me had concerns. She listens to podcasts along the way to learn more
about herself and toxic relationships and concludes, “The human spirit is
resilient. Even when reduced to smoldering ash, the spirit is able to spark
back to life with the right conditions. I found those conditions in nature’s
touch and the hearts of others along Wisconsin’s Ice Age Trail.”
I lived near and walked segments
of the southeastern part of the trail during the years it was developed and
worked on in the 1990s. I appreciated this in-depth journey of nature’s healing
power. Readers of true adventure stories, nature hiking, and memoirs will find
much to appreciate in Squatter: One Woman’s Journey to Reclaim her Spirit on
the Ice Age Trail.
About the Author
Yolanda DeLoach is an avid section hiker and outdoors
advocate, having become a “1,000-miler” on the Ice Age Trail in 2021. She lives
in Central Wisconsin, where she works as a palliative care/hospice registered
nurse.
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