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View Full Version : [NoCo] 6-2-11: Riding & Writing:Going Full Throttle For Abby



fullthrottle
Wed Jun 1st, 2011, 05:24 PM
7:30 3761 S. Mason in Fort Collins!!


Read for the full story, it's definitely worth it!! We are raising $ for Abby! Biggins BBQ will be serving pulled pork & brisket!! We'll also be having a Bake Sale!! Let's help out ABBY!! Enjoy the book signing & meet Axe! He's a great guy & I hope you enjoy his story & buy a book or 2!


"Axe, a chopper builder from Florida was in Loveland, CO for open heart surgery that would drastically change his life. Since then he’s healthier, happier, and lives every experience to the hilt. His adventures and transitions in life were captured in his intense memoirs published as “Bouncing off Guardrails” last fall. Although he grew up on Harleys and built choppers, he’ll be riding a BMW S1000RR to Colorado in a one shot to rip through the Rockies. During his trip, Axe will be stopping in to the Full Throttle Coffee House on the evening of Thursday, June 2nd, for a book signing. Come on in and say hello to this addict to adrenaline and gasoline. The book will be available for sale that night, and is also available at local book stores, Amazon, and www.ychrome.com (http://www.ychrome.com/).

Excerpt from Abby's memoir..."My son and I were checking into the Hyatt in Knoxville, Tennessee. Two days before, I'd received two phone calls. One was telling me that the Harley-Davidson Softail I'd ordered six months before had finally arrived at the dealership. The second one was the information that my son's father had been found dead in a storage unit in Chattanooga. I asked Dan if he wanted to travel to Tennessee for the funeral. He did.

At the hotel's front desk, I picked up a brochure that said, "Knoxville, Who Knew?" We laughed at the irony. We'd escaped from Dan’s father eleven years before, almost to the day. We stayed with friends in New York for a few months, in the suburbs of New York City. A couple of moves later, I was attending college full time on the Canadian border. A few moves after that, New Hampshire. Who knew where I'd be at any point in time? Who knew what would lead me there? Who knew that six years after the Knoxville trip I'd be living in Colorado?

A lot of my friends say I'm a badass. They mean it in a loving way. It's not the false bravado, pretending that I'm going to beat you into submission if you look at me the wrong way kind of badass. They just know that even though I'm a friendly, law-abiding (for the most part), God-loving girl, I'm not afraid. I take risks. I ride hard. I'll venture into the unknown with no fear. Really, what's the worst that can happen?

I'm not sure there is anyone I've befriended in the last 20 years who knows the extent of the insanity and the extreme danger that I lived through every day for several years. Blasting across the country by myself, with my new ape hangers, no front turn signals, and no windshield is no comparison to the fear that accompanies living with a dangerous, psychotic man. While riding a Harley across the country by yourself, you choose your roads. You choose when to stop because of weather or physical limitations or just because you want to. You choose who to speak to and when to move on. If you get into a traffic situation that isn't comfortable, you remove yourself from it. Piece of cake. Living with a dangerous lunatic who says he'll hunt you and your son down and kill you both if you try to leave... not so easy.

Maybe I am a badass. Maybe it's simply that I've seen how scary life can be and anything I'm doing now is far from it.

I’m writing a collection of stories about a journey, both figurative and literal. A journey through drugs and alcohol and subsequent sobriety. A journey from the Hell of living in constant fear to freedom and independence. A journey of a chick on a Harley traveling the country. But don't worry, I'm not one of those people who has overcome all of my vices and lives a perfect life. I'm still broken, but my life rocks.

Twenty years ago I didn't know how I was going to make it through another day, and I kept pushing on, not feeling sorry for myself or making excuses, but putting one foot in front of the other until I arrived in my current state. Sometimes I feel guilty that life is so good, but I paid my dues, and I deserve to be here.

I've been told I should write a book about my life for a long time, but really, who wants to read something that they can get at an Alcoholics Anonymous speaker meeting? Then in 2007 I took a solo cross-country ride on my Softail: 8,323 miles in 23 days. I hauled a MacBook along with me and blogged throughout the trip. People enjoyed reading my blog. They said they felt as though they were on the road with me. The trip was life-changing. It would be easy to just copy and paste the blog and make a book out of that, but there were things I wrote about in the blog that wouldn't be nearly as powerful if the reader didn't know the background.

The book I'm writing contains the blog, some short stories about my past, and a little explanation or insight here and there. Overall, it's the tale of one woman's lifelong quest to find the peace and happiness that everyone strives for. It sounds hokey, I know, but it's a really good story. My intent is that you simply enjoy, and if you find it gives you the kick in the ass you need to follow your heart instead of enduring or trying to survive another day, then that's a bonus.

In April I submitted a portion of my book to the Aspen Writers’ Foundation with the hope that I’d be accepted into their summer workshop. I knew the competition was intense, but what’s the worst they could do? Tell me I suck? Imagine my surprise when I discovered I’d been accepted into the Memoir workshop led by Erica Jong. The purpose of the workshop is to help the writer create a piece that people will want to read. Even though a lot of people tell me they like my stories about riding, I’m worried that I’ll bore people to death and all the work I’ve put into the book will be for nothing. I want it to be right the first time.

In addition to getting help writing the book, I’ll have the opportunity to meet with literary agents and editors. It’s an amazing opportunity. The most incredible part is that I’m not showing up unannounced with a thousand other people; I was chosen!

Now I have to pay my way. I’ve been working hard to make this happen. When I first mentioned to Amy that I was applying for the workshop, I told her I probably wouldn’t be able to go if I got in because of the cost. Amy said that if I got in, we’d find a way. She thinks that my friends would be happy to support me, so I’m asking you to be a part of my book, Shovelhead Redemption. Any little bit you feel you could contribute would be greatly appreciated and very helpful.