cover image The Walker Within

The Walker Within

Walking Magazine. Lyons Press, $22.95 (232pp) ISBN 978-1-58574-169-4

Compiled by the editors of Walking magazine, the essays in The Walker Within: Forty-five Stories of Motivation and Inspiration for Walkers explore the simple experience of taking a walk, whether as private ritual or bonding time with a child, parent, lover or dog. A few writers describe the role of walking in their writing process; others see walking as an integral part of a struggle with grief or loss. Some essays are pleasingly quirky: Gena Acosta writes about the day she put on her ""wicked new lipstick"" and walked the New York City marathon, while Ann Hood describes walking a million of miles without getting any fresh air as a flight attendant. ( Apr.)