Pack Light Audiobook By Shilletha Curtis cover art

Pack Light

A Journey to Find Myself

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Pack Light

By: Shilletha Curtis
Narrated by: Shilletha Curtis
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After losing her job due to the coronavirus pandemic, a vet tech decides to confront the roots of her childhood traumas by hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Pack Light follows a woman's journey changing the narrative of hiking while Black—because the great outdoors belongs to everyone.

This memoir will trace Shilletha's thru-hike from Georgia to Maine as she decided to confront the roots of her trauma. Growing up, Curtis suffered from a fractured family life, bullying at school, indifferent teachers, and abuse from people she trusted. Then she discovered the Appalachian Trail, which she successfully hiked in 2021. It took her eight months and four seasons to hike through 14 states, even more impressive given her lifelong struggle with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and ADHD.

©2024 Shilletha Curtis (P)2024 Audible, Inc. Biographies & Memoirs LGBTQIA+ Creators Mental Health Awareness Outdoors & Nature Women Hiking Mental Health Inspiring

Watch the Trailer for Pack Light with Shilletha Curtis

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About the Creator

Shilletha "Dragonsky" Curtis was born in Newark, New Jersey, and spent much of her time growing up on the Jersey Shore. Shilletha received her bachelor’s in social work from Rutgers University in 2014 and spent a summer abroad in Beijing, China (2012) to further her Mandarin speaking skills and then traveled to Romania (2013) to do an internship at an orphanage in Cluj-Napoca. Helping people has always been her passion, but she eventually found that she had a profound love for animals and eventually the outdoors. She trained as a veterinary technician in 2016 in Austin, Texas, and practiced for two years. She lost her job due to the coronavirus pandemic in March of 2020. Like many, with a new outlook on life, Shilletha decided to pursue hiking, beginning with the Appalachian Trail. One day, her dream is to finish The Triple Crown, which is the highest honor in hiking, completing the Appalachian, Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide. Her journey to complete continues though in every way—she's already won.

All stars
Most relevant  
I had the pleasure of meeting Dragonsky before reading her book. I am glad she is sharing her story because not only is it inspiring for other adventurers but she verbalizes important feelings and real experiences, some of which brought up old memories for me that I never really processed. Thank you for your truth Dragonsky! I look forward to following your journey to the triple crown and beyond!

Relatable!

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I highly recommend this book. I couldn’t stop listening. Definitely a page turner! Very well written and a true account of what it is like to have these experiences. Absolutely loved it!!

Throughly Enjoyed Her Story!

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I'd seen some of Dragonsky's U Tube videos before starting my AT thru hike on Feb, 26, 2021. I headed north myself from from Amicalola Falls before flipflopping from Bennington, Vt in mid August '21. Someone in Vermont, a shuttle driver I think, mentioned Dragonsky, having recently met her. It made me happy that she was still on the trail. I'd seem very little diversity on the AT and only a few black thru hikers. I hiked all but 250 miles of the AT as a 68 yr old solo white women and often felt out of place. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I wonder if Dragonsky ended up hiking the PCT and CDT. She is a strong and courageous woman. Her story is a great inspiration to me. She show a lot of class and resilience. Thank you Dragonsky!

This book provided understanding.

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I’m so inspired by dragonsky’s vulnerability, and transparency! So many people deal with anxiety and depression, and there’s so much shame around it - Shilletha’s transparency reminds us that we’re not alone. This book was beautifully written, albeit incredibly uncomfortable at times, I love how she weaves her personal story with her journey on the AT. Dragonsky is an incredible force!! 🫶🏽

Powerful story!

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First of all, imagine being so narcissistic and privileged that you give a new author a terrible review simply bc you “can’t relate” to her. Second, and most of all, the number of people that WILL relate to Shilletha will be immeasurable. Loved the way she intertwined her trail story with her personal life stories and couldn’t wait to get back in the car to hear what was next. loved hearing how she grew over time. My ONLY criticism is that it could have been longer….I could have listened to details about the adventures on the trail indefinitely! Thank you, Shellitha for your raw honesty and openness….you are an inspiration!

Didn’t want to it to end!

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a story of determination and perseverance. Her journey, like this story, is not linear. A series of chaos, trepidation and drive. A metamorphosis of pain to pride for a courageous black woman. The strength she portrays provides me with an encouragement to keep moving forward. The physical and mental endurance she describes captivates the reader to contemplate not only her path, also my own path in life. An excellent read for those who need to hear more encouragement in a tumultuous world.

From rock bottom to the top of the rock

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Loved this book! An uplifting story of someone who had all odds stacked against her!!

Honesty of her story

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Dragonsky may have struggled with math some in her life, but clearly writing and storytelling is her super power! While I only daydream of hiking the AT (maybe someday…), Dragonsky takes us on not only an AT journey but a journey of the human spirit and resiliency. Well done! Beautiful and touching.

Vulnerable and Brave

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I love hearing this author’s story. She tells her story with honesty, vulnerability, and humor, and I think it’s a story people need to hear. Also, how refreshing to hear a thru hiking story from the perspective of a person of color that includes her own and other LGBTQ experiences on trail! I love listening to hiking/adventure books but struggle to find any that aren’t written by the same white men with the same perspective. I really enjoyed the author’s style and hope to read more books of hers in the future!

Beautiful Story

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self indulgent, ruminating, verbal masturbation of a memoir. author is fixated on racism & can't differentiate ignorance from malice.

carry a hammer everything looks like a nail

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