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I finally finished reading Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road by Neil Peart. A cross between travelogue and autobiography, he tells his motorcycle journey of 14 months and 55,000 miles that he undertook after losing his daughter (car accident) and wife (cancer) in an 8 month period.

The opening couple of chapters are somber and quite moving. His genuine anger and open honesty are somehow refreshing to read. Likewise, his descriptions of the places he visits (from Toronto to Alaska and Inuvuk to Belize) have made me want to visit many of them.

As the book wears on Neil includes some letters he writes while on the road. While these make for interesting changes in voice and tempo, I feel that he over-uses them. Several middle chapters are made up almost exclusively of letters with virtually no narration in between. While the letters provide a different insight into his feelings “at the moment,” they don’t form as good a narrative as his “regular” prose.

Overall I enjoyed the book, but would have liked the letters to be used more sparingly as interludes and highlights to his journey.