Healing In Nature

THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL: A PATHWAY TO RECOVERY FROM SEXUAL VIOLENCE

Acknowledgements I could not have undertaken this journey without the endless support of my Chair, Dr. Andrew Bobilya. I am also thankful to Dr. Callie Shultz for encouraging me to pursue autoethnography. I would also like to extend a warm thank you to the entire EOE inaugural cohort at Western Carolina University. We have relied on one another for academic and social support throughout this process, and I would not have made it to this point without each of you. Special thanks to my grandparents, Dr. Walter and Frances Barton, who provided me the haven of their beach house ‘Taste the Sea,’ in Litchfield, Pawleys Island, to finish writing this story. This endeavor wouldn’t be possible without the support of family and friends who have helped me through this process in ways I cannot express, and for that, I will be forever grateful. Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the hikers I interacted with during my time on the Appalachian Trail.