UW Alumni Authors

Linda Lawrence Hunt, '62

Bold Spirit: Helga Estby's Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America
By Linda Lawrence Hunt, '62
Anchor Books, 2004
 Buy this book online at University Book Store

This true story—about a poor woman who, along with her teenage daughter, walked across 19th-century America to get out of debt—received the Washington State Book Award in 2004.

Excerpt:

"... Their terror of mountain lions often kept them awake, especially when they heard them prowling nearby. In Wyoming they had a narrow escape from a gray mountain lion 'as big as a man' that followed them for twelve miles. 'Being acquainted with the animal's traits, we knew they never attacked from behind and never except by running and springing upon a victim,' explained Helga to a reporter. 'We kept up a steady pace and kept the animal about ten feet behind us."