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  • The Sunset Route

  • Freight Trains, Forgiveness, and Freedom on the Rails in the American West
  • By: Carrot Quinn
  • Narrated by: Erin Spencer
  • Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (8 ratings)

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The Sunset Route

By: Carrot Quinn
Narrated by: Erin Spencer
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Publisher's Summary

The unforgettable story of one woman who leaves behind her hardscrabble childhood in Alaska to travel the country via freight train — a beautiful memoir about forgiveness, self-discovery, and the redemptive power of nature, perfect for fans of Wild or Educated.

Named One of the Best Books of the Year by The Philadelphia Inquirer • “An urgent read. A courageous life. Quinn’s story burns through us and bleeds beauty on every page.” (Noé Álvarez, author of Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon Through North America’s Stolen Land)

After a childhood marked by neglect, poverty, and periods of homelessness, with a mother who believed herself to be the reincarnation of the Virgin Mary, Carrot Quinn moved out on her own. She found a sense of belonging among straight-edge anarchists who taught her how to traverse the country by freight trains, sleep in fields under the stars, and feed herself by foraging in dumpsters. Her new life was one of thrilling adventure and freedom, but still she was haunted by the ghosts of her lonely and traumatic childhood.

The Sunset Route is a powerful and brazenly honest adventure memoir set in the unseen corners of the United States — in the Alaskan cold, on trains rattling through forests and deserts, as well as in low-income apartments and crowded punk houses — following a remarkable protagonist who has witnessed more tragedy than she thought she could ever endure and who must learn to heal her own heart. Ultimately, it is a meditation on the natural world as a spiritual anchor, and on the ways that forgiveness can set us free.

©2021 Carrot Quinn (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic Reviews

"This beautiful memoir of forgiveness, redemption, and the power of the human spirit is more important than ever before. Carrot Quinn’s story is one of bravery writ large, of our ability and inclination to save ourselves in the face of trauma, anchored and steadied by the mundane magnificence of the natural world. I was captivated by it.” (Elissa Altman, author of Motherland)

“An intimate memoir of loneliness and hope.” (Kirkus

The Sunset Route is a captivating tale of hope and profound courage. Carrot Quinn tells her story with unflinching honesty and grit, illuminating the magic and majesty of the landscapes of the American West. The story unfolds like an adventure on every page. I felt the railways rumble beneath me and the cold wind blow through my hair and had to remind myself to breathe. Carrot Quinn’s brave spirit shines as a bright reminder that what lies within us is stronger and more powerful than any circumstance. The Sunset Route is as inspiring as it is heartbreaking. By the end, I wanted to stand up and cheer for Quinn as she carved her own path to redemption.” (Ruth Wariner, author of the New York Times best seller The Sound of Gravel

What listeners say about The Sunset Route

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Beautiful, fun, and heartbreaking

I found Sunset Route a beautiful experience. Carrot’s strength and sense of adventure is enthralling. Juxtaposing her difficult childhood with free travel and coming of age stories of her 20s, Sunset simultaneously broke my heart and filled it up. Thank you Carrot for sharing your unique story and keeping me such good company the past week and a half!

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Beautiful, wonderful.

A captivating account of modern day poverty and survival among the often ignored industrial landscape of a falsely glistening America. A story of struggle through the refusal to accept the existence society lays out before us.
Devoured it in a day and always wanting more of Carrot Quinn's writing.

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