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TO SHAKE THE SLEEPING SELF by Jedidiah Jenkins

A Journey from Oregon to Patagonia, and a Quest for a Life with No Regret

About To Shake the Sleeping Self

From travel writer Jedidiah Jenkins comes a long-awaited memoir of adventure, struggle, and lessons learned while bicycling the 14,000 miles from Oregon to Patagonia.

On the eve of turning thirty, terrified of being funneled into a life he didn’t choose, Jedidiah Jenkins quit his dream job and spent the next sixteen months cycling from Oregon to Patagonia. He chronicled the trip on Instagram, where his photos and profound reflections on life soon attracted hundreds of thousands of followers and got him featured by National Geographic and The Paris Review.

In this unflinchingly honest memoir, Jed narrates the adventure that started it all: the people and places he encountered on his way to the bottom of the world, and the internal journey that prompted it. As he traverses cities, mountains, and inner boundaries, Jenkins grapples with the questions of what it means to be an adult, his struggle to reconcile his sexual identity with his conservative Christian upbringing, and his belief in travel as a way to “wake us up” to life back home.

A soul-stirring read for the dreamer in each of us, To Shake the Sleeping Self is an unforgettable reflection on adventure, identity, and a life lived without regret.

“Thrilling, tender, utterly absorbing . . . Every chapter shimmered with truth. It’s an unforgettable debut.”  —Cheryl Strayed

About Jedidiah Jenkins

Jedidiah Jenkins is a travel writer, entrepreneur, and Instagram personality. A graduate of USC and Pepperdine University School of Law, Jenkins began his professional career with the nonprofit Invisible Children, where he helped orchestrate multinational campaigns to end the use of child soldiers in central Africa. His parents, Peter and Barbara Jenkins, are the authors of the bestselling A Walk Across America series. He is the executive editor of Wilderness magazine; his work has appeared in the Paris Review and Good magazine; and his journey was covered by National Geographic.

 

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