Expedition from the Backdoor

Expedition from the Backdoor documents a feat of personal strength and tenacity in the face of physical and social limitations. It traces the expedition: a 1000km walk, along footpaths, towpaths and mountain trails, from Yvette’s home in Shropshire, to Knoydart in Scotland, from its modest beginnings through its evolution into a life-changing adventure. The book’s written in chronological order and in first person, using diaries, blogs and expedition log-books. This gives it immediacy and honesty, as well as a level of detail that allows the reader to share in the experience. The unique elements of the expedition, which build progressively in the book, were the limits that Yvette placed upon herself in order to make it meaningful, and to make it a genuine test of her survival skills: sleeping rough with no tent, carrying her kit (amounting to nearly 20 kilos) and all her food other than wild sources that she foraged, avoiding technology (including industrially produced foods and modern fuels and stoves), and staying true to a self-reliant ethic – all these in the context of illness, injury and menopause. The sections are varied and cover things such as Yvette’s changing feelings and motivations, practical details in the planning of the walk and changes in health and mobility. There are also specific pieces about food preparation and kit selection.–Provided by publisher.