Jana Richman - Riding in the Shadows of Saints: A Womans Story of Motorcycling the Mormon Trail

Tartly funny.

Chicago Tribune

Surprising and refreshing.

Philadelphia Inquirer

Much to admire in [this] moving memoir [Richman] can write lyrically and unsentimentally about the most intimate experiences.

Newsday (New York)

Beautifully poetic exploratory thought-provoking.

New Orleans Times-Picayune

Frank and beguilingly unsentimental, Riding in the Shadows of Saints is an honest look at a powerful and wealthy institution and the people who live within its structure.

Tucson Citizen

A mixture of road trip musings, quirky adventure tales, and spiritual reflections, with a healthy dose of unresolved family issues universally compelling.

Publishers Weekly

Well crafted, intimate, and engaging: an unorthodox rite of passage with ruminations on faith, feminism, and more.

Kirkus Reviews

Jana Richman understands that we can never escape our connections to our ancestors, and neither would we want to. In this busy and disconnected world, Richman has taken the time both to make peace with and embrace her heritage; her story serves as an inspiration to us all.

Dawn Prince-Hughes, author of Songs of the Gorilla Nation

An extraordinary story of a woman who travels cross-country on a bikethe rip-roaring, motorized, macho kindin search of what it means to have and keep faith. Richman leavens the history of MormonismAmericas fascinating, authentically homegrown religionwith her investigation into her roots and her adventures riding the Mormon trail. Like all great memoirs, Riding in the Shadows of Saints engages the heart while delighting the mind.

Fenton Johnson, author of Keeping Faith

In this profoundly appealing memoir, Jana Richman travels a road that connects her to family, history, and the haunting landscapes and haunted people of the West. What she finds along the way makes for a marvelous journeyand a most memorable book.

Gregory McNamee, author of Gila and Blue Mountains Far Away

Faith for Jana Richman, who can trace her Mormon roots back to the founding of the Church, is not a dogma but a process of engagement with place, history, and mystery. She writes with disarming honesty, and the wonderful surprise of the book is to witness the strength and integrity of five generations of women who managed to empower themselves within the belly of religious patriarchy. This book makes a significant contribution to feminizing the history of the American West.

Alison Hawthorne Deming, author of Writing the Sacred into the Real

A poignant mother/daughter love affair, a heart-wrenching father/daughter schism, a classic coming-of-age story, and a timeless quest for spiritual meaning. That its setting is the splendor of the American West only adds to the books richness.

Sally Denton, author of Faith and Betrayal

For Mom

PUTTING ONESELF IN A POSITION OF RELYING ON THE generosity of strangers is a humbling experience. On this trip, I carried with me innumerable warnings of dangerous men stalking vulnerable women along highways and at rest stops. I provided the perfect opportunity for such men: a woman traveling alone, small in stature, drawing attention to herself by mode of travel, lingering in parking lots, and preoccupied with pulling on gloves and helmet and strapping down gear.

I could not have made this journey before making the conscious decision beforehand to trust in the goodness of humanity the same way I trusted in the integrity of my tires. Neither let me down.

On September 11, 2001, the shock from a morning of death and chaos on the East Coast quickly spread west throughout the nation, seeping into the homes and consciousness of every American and sending people into a collective state of fear and vulnerability. Prior to this event, my level of fear and vulnerability were already stretched tightly, and after that day I struggled with a high possibility that fear would turn into paralysis.The kind residents of a small farming community in Iowa kept that from happening. Their small and simple acts of kindness turned out to be gifts of great magnitude.

I thank the folks of Bridgewater for embracing me in the midst of madness as if my story were of great import. In treating it so, they cloaked me in reasonable calm and normalcy enabling me to function from one day to the next. Those who took part in my rescue were Beverly and Jake Pote, Beth and Wilbur Christensen, Kenny Cousins, Lillian Nichols, and especially Gary Antisdel, who rendered pieces of my story with genuine care and interest as he drove me over the muddy Iowa back roads on September 11, making me feel protected and safe on that dismal day.

All of those kind strangers were brought to me by Dave and Phyllis Nichols, who within five minutes of meeting me turned over the keys to their house and their car, fed me, and gave me safe haven for as long as I needed it. I have nothing to offer them in return except my immense gratitude and a copy of this book, with the inscription to Dave: To a genuine stud, clear-thinking politically and a dear friend of my liberal-minded father, as instructed and promised.

The day after I left Bridgewater, I made my way to Lincoln, Nebraska, and was taken in by another friend, Pat Emile, allowing me a couple more much-needed days of care and companionship before I struck out alone again for the West.

At the beginning of my journey, Deborah Stoddard and Cindy Lefton put up with a neurotic and frazzled woman functioning only on pure bravado for more days than they had originally agreed to, all the while convincing me it brought them great pleasure to do so. Debbie carries a big, generous heart, and Ive been the lucky recipient of it more times than I can count.

Also in St. Louis, a nod of thanks to the folks at BMW Motorrad for responding immediately to my calls for help and getting me on the road as quickly as possible, and at the other end of the trail, the folks at the Mormon Church archives for their assistance with finding historical information.

Prior to the trip, several people read my work and encouraged the project, never exhibiting a glimmer of doubt in either my riding or writing abilities. Gregory McNamee, Fenton Johnson, and Alison Hawthorne Deming have all offered a steady source of advice and encouragement over the years.

My dear friend and brilliant poet and essayist Donna Steiner offered support in innumerable ways, including sending daily pithy e-mails, reading drafts of the manuscript, and offering to slap me whenever I slogged into a state of inertia and self-pity.

Someone once gave me the very sound advice that I should find an agent who believes deeply in my work and is passionate about his own. Ive never doubted those qualities in Doug Stewart. He has been a reassuring friend to me every step of the way, taking the worry out of the business of publishing and allowing me to concentrate on the writing. Hes a pure joy to work with.

Emily Loose embraced the vision from the beginning and offered great insight during the short time we worked together. Caroline Sincerbeaux picked up where Emily left off, producing a painless transition and making those horror stories of switching editors mid-process untrue. I thank them both for their knowledge and professionalism.