The Twenty: One Woman’s Trek Across Corsica on the GR20 Trail
What a great travel memoir! Not many people would even attempt doing this challenging trek across Corsia—let alone when they are nearing the age of sixty.
It’s more than a memoir. More than a travel book. It’s not just a book about the dynamics of working within a group of like-minded adventurers. It is a book to inspire you! To make you believe that it is never too late to follow your dreams. Of course, it you are going to do the grueling and breathtaking GR20 Trail you better in shape.
Marianne Bohr and her husband, decide on an extended, desolate trek across the French island of Corsica—the GR20, Europe’s toughest long-distance footpath—to challenge what it means to grow old.
Marianne writes about how she was a chubby, non-athletic kid, but turned into an athlete after reaching that point where you say to yourself: “I’ll show them!” And boy-oh-boy has she showed them. She explores lots of subjects in this book from achieving your dreams to accepting the limitations of growing older in the midst of a youth focused culture, What a joy taking this trip must have meant to her and to her great partner of a husband who is growing old gracefully with her.
The Twenty is a moving story filled with deep insights into the beauty she saw on the journey through the breathtaking beauty of Corsica’s rugged countryside.
For me this interview reminded me of my trip to Corsica. I made a pilgrimage to Napoleon Bonaparte’s birthplace in Ajaccio. He was born not long after the island was annexed by France, which explains why Corsicans still think of themselves as Corsicans. If you go to Corsica–always tell them that you love Corsican people. It is sure to get you the freshest fish, the biggest dessert, a plate of olives or figs, and an extra glass of wine. Corsicans are very friendly and generous.
The Casa Buonaparte is now a national museum. It was the family’s ancestral home since 1682. Napoleon was born in this room in 1769.
Get Marianne Bohr’s The Twenty. and get inspired to do something fun with your life. Corsica is a great destination vacation spot. You might not be able to do the 114-mile trek across the island, but there are plenty of trails were you can see the beauty of the countryside and the people.
You can hike, bike, or stay in one of the dreamy luxury hotels along the coast.
Next for Marianne and her husband is trek across England. What fun! So I expect her to be back next year.
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Praise for The Twenty....
“Covering a perilous hike on a difficult European trail,The Twenty is the account of a quest to heal childhood wounds and stop striving for perfection.”
—Foreword Reviews
“Similar to narratives about trekking, hiking, and walking in such classics as Tracks by Robyn Davidson and Wild by Cheryl Strayed . . . ultimately triumphing in [Bohr’s] own way and on her terms.”
—Library Journal
“Bohr shows herself to be a natural storyteller, and her diaristic account is appealingly escapist. It’s a poetic reminder of the trails still left to tread, regardless of one’s age. Like all great travelogues, it will have readers itching to travel somewhere remote and outside their comfort zones.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“The Twenty, Bohr’s second travel memoir, is as much a page-turner as her first, Gap Year Girl. Her writing is so descriptive that I felt I was hiking the 20 myself (something I would like to attempt even at the age of 66). I shared the author’s occasional disappointment and was amazed she didn’t give up. A feel-good must-read for all, especially baby boomers who believe that limits exist only in the mind.”
—Mary Anne Marciante, International Marathoner and Hotel Ambassador, The St. Regis Deer Valley, UT
“You need to be strong, fit and agile in order to complete the GR20. It comes as no surprise to discover that most trekkers are young adults in tip-top condition. Marianne reminds us that age is no barrier to trekking the GR20, provided that careful planning is followed by careful foot placement. Her determination along the trail is inspiring.”
—Paddy Dillon, author of The GR20 Corsica: Complete Guide to the High-Level Route
“Marianne Bohr’s magnetic narrative draws readers in and invites them to live vicariously through her vividly painted word pictures. And though I didn’t strip off my socks—pulling white flesh with them—at the end of each day, I journeyed alongside her on treacherous terrain, ascending and descending razor-sharp scree, jagged granite, and sheer, slippery rock slabs. It was as if I, too, felt my cautious way along narrow ledges and lived the leg-trembling reality of the 124-mile trek across Corsica. The Twenty is a story of human resilience that swept me away.”
—Laurie Buchanan, author of the Sean McPherson novels
“The Twenty is an exhilarating and brave adventure story about Bohr’s trek with her husband on the GR20. The characters danced off the page and into my heart and I cheered them as they hiked across Corsica. I’m inspired to take on the twenty after reading this exciting, honest travel memoir.”
—Kathy Elkind, author of To Walk It Is To See It: 1 Couple, 98 Days, 1400 miles on Europe’s GR5
