Elliott & Thompson acquires Kerri Andrew’s book about walking and motherhood

Elliott & Thompson has acquired Pathfinding: On Walking and Motherhood by writer, walker and academic Kerri Andrews, author of Wanderers: A History of Women Walking (Reaktion Books).

Publishing director Sarah Rigby commissioned and acquired world rights (excluding audiobook) from Kay Peddle at Colwill & Peddle, and the book will be published in hardback and e-book on 13th March 2025.

The synopsis states: "In the wake of having her own children, walker and writer Kerri Andrews determines to undertake a series of journeys on foot to explore the complex interconnections that have long existed between motherhood and walking. On the 18th-century cliffs of Norway and Sweden we meet Mary Wollstonecraft, striding out as she contemplates the fate awaiting her infant daughter in a misogynistic society. We join Ellen Weeton in the 19th-century, walking miles upon miles for a slim chance to see the daughter from whom she has been unwillingly and cruelly separated. And we walk alongside Kate Chopin and the heroines of her novels at the start of the 20th century as they try to step into new, less restrictive lives."

Rigby said: "Walking brings not only joy and connection, but freedom: the freedom to decide when and where to put one foot in front of the other; the freedom to rely solely on ourselves and our bodies. But what happens to this freedom when we become mothers? Kerri Andrews’ Pathfinding is a powerful and much-needed invitation to mothers today to reclaim that sense of power, pleasure and liberation for ourselves."

Andrews added: "It’s a dream to be working with Sarah and the team at Elliott & Thompson, and to have found a home for Pathfinding with them."