Meet Christine Reed

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christine Reed a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Christine, great to have you with us today and excited to have you share your wisdom with our readers. Over the years, after speaking with countless do-ers, makers, builders, entrepreneurs, artists and more we’ve noticed that the ability to take risks is central to almost all stories of triumph and so we’re really interested in hearing about your journey with risk and how you developed your risk-taking ability.

Like most things, physical and mental, the ability to take risk expands with each repetition. As we take risks and see that the outcome was positive, or even that the negative outcome wasn’t as bad as we had imagined, we become less risk averse. I played it safe, and played by the rules, all through my youth and most of my college years. That first big risk, quitting my job, leaving my parents, going out to hike the Appalachian Trail, felt momentous. I was able to talk myself into it, largely because things in my life felt all wrong and I knew that I needed BIG change. But every move, big and small, since then has built the mental muscle, that everything will find its way, and that moving in any direction is better than standing still, so we might as well move.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I was originally inspired by the Appalachian Trail, but my development into a distance hiker and runner took several years. After my second long hike, on the Wonderland Trail around Mt Rainier, I decided to write a memoir about my experience. That’s when my life really changed. I wrote Alone in Wonderland– a story about the search for independence and how spending time alone in nature can shape how we see ourselves and our place in the world. In the process of promoting the book, I became a public speaker and found myself often speaking to women+ specific community groups, working to inspire, inform, and remove the guardrails that women so often find themselves and others placing around them to “keep them safe”. That lead to the project idea for my second book Blood Sweat Tears– a short story collection by 26 women+ about their experiences on trail (hiking, backpacking, trailrunning, and mountaineering). I also run an Outdoorsy Women+ Book Club on the Allstora platform, where we read an outdoor adventure memoir every month, to get inspired! The evolution of my work has come organically over the years, and I’m always curious where it will take me next. I am currently working with another athlete and author, Bethany Adams, on her upcoming memoir, Unsupported.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I think one of the main things that has allowed me to progress to where I am, as an athlete and a creative, has been the confidence (and sometimes naivete) to approach a new mission or project with a “how hard could it be?” attitude. When I decided to write a book, I looked around at the literal millions of books being published annually and thought, “if all these people can write a book, it can’t be that hard.” If I had known just how difficult the process would be, I might never have started, but the brazenness of thinking it probably wasn’t that big of a deal, allowed me to just sit down and start. Sometimes we don’t have the option to be naive– we already know too much– if all else fails, lie to yourself.

Specifically for writers, I don’t think the power of consumption can be overstated. The more you read, the more you learn, the more you subconsciously absorb the nuances of language and create more and more puzzle pieces to work with in your communication centers. Eat words for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Read things that you love and enjoy (not just things you feel that you “should” read).

I feel strongly that the people I have surrounded myself with for the last 10 years have been amazingly impactful in my journey. Not so much in the networking sense (although that is important)– but also in energetic sense. I spend time with other people who are challenging themselves, doing hard things, and love to see me try something new. When I tell my bestie some crazy idea that’s just come into my head, her response is always “hell yes, you should do that.” Pragmatic conversations about how to make it happen are always second to the initial hype.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

I have struggled a lot with burnout in the last year or two, and I can say that what helps the most is rest. I know we all want to rise and grind and push toward our dreams forever. But when was the last time you laid down in the forest and watched the sky through golden aspen leaves? Me? This week. I know that creative energy must be recharged, and I cannot just write and write until the thing is done. I need to rest.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ruggedoutdoorswoman.com
• Instagram: ruggedoutdoorswoman
• Other: Book Club : https://allstora.com/pages/outdoorsy-women-book-club

Image Credits

Nicole Bethune – portrait with sunglasses and rainbow fleece sweater.