Jedidiah Jenkins

Jedidiah Jenkins is the books’ author and central figure. He was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee in a community of Evangelical Christians. Jenkins is homosexual, and his upbringing compelled him to believe that homosexuality was sinful and unnatural. He began to accept his sexuality in his early adulthood, but he decided not to pursue any sexual or romantic relationships. Jenkins has a generally good relationship with his parents, although his mother has never accepted his homosexuality. Jenkins attended law school, but he eventually found his life as a lawyer to be unfulfilling. In his late twenties, he decided that he would quit his job and go on a 16-month bike trip from Oregon to Chile. He was inspired in part by his parents, who walked the width of the United States in the late 1970s.

Jenkins began his bike trip at the age of 30. Jenkins...