Press Release: The Brief Wondrous Life of David “Stewball” Ackley by David Ackley
A Travel Memoir
Collected from email correspondence in 2009 to family and friends, THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF DAVID “STEWBALL” ACKLEY (Stewball Publishing, on sale October 1, 2021) compiles the late David Ackley’s dispatches as he introduces readers to his thru-hike (a complete hike spanning more than 2000 miles) of the Appalachian Trail.
In 1999, a man from Iowa took on the trail name “Stewball” and began a hike up and down the Appalachian Trail. David “Stewball” Ackley made a home in Hot Springs, North Carolina, a stop along the A.T., and found love and life in the small mountain community. In 2008, he joined the Obama campaign in nearby Asheville where he volunteered every day through the presidential election. Afterwards he set out on another thru-hike of the A.T. and sent regular emails of his journey to his family and friends.
THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF DAVID “STEWBALL” ACKLEY is a collection of his humorous and entertaining dispatches as he battles with mosquitoes and twisted ankles, bares it all for Naked Hiking Day, and offers advice in hiker log entries titled “Hanna Montana’s Hiking Tips” writing with magenta markers: “U might think that the hard part is behind U, but the most challenging aspect of Ur journey is still ahead.”
Stewball lived with depression for most, if not all, of his life. After his second thru-hike he returned to his birthplace of Des Moines and, sadly, took his own life at the age of 40. His notes illustrate both the beauty of his experience, and, towards the end, his struggle to keep going. With his family’s permission, his emails have been collected for everyone to read — a look into Stewball’s brief and wondrous life.
THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF DAVID “STEWBALL” ACKLEY
APPALACHIAN TRAIL THRU-HIKER 1999/2000 & 2009, AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR OF “HANNAH MONTANA’S HIKING TIPS,” 2008 OBAMA CAMPAIGN VOLUNTEER & DEAR FRIEND
A COLLECTION OF EMAILS BY DAVID ACKLEY FROM THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL
Foreword by Paul Choi
Imprint: Stewball Publishing
On Sale: October 1, 2021
On Demand Paperback Price: $7.99
E-Book Price: $5.99
Pages: 48
ISBN Paperback: 979-8-9850381-0-1
ISBN E-Book: 979-8-9850381-1-8
Contact:
hello@stewballpublishing.com
Paperback and e-book available online at Amazon.
About the Author
David Ackley was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa. In his first thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, he took on the trail name of “Stewball” and began at Mt. Katahdin in June of 1999 and headed southbound in the opposite direction of most hikers. He took his time exploring new towns, fighting blizzards, and visiting friends and family off the trail. He summited Springer Mountain, the southern terminus, in March of 2000. His second thru-hike was northbound from April through October of 2009.
Stewball passed away in 2011.