Riding a Straight and Twisty Road
Motorcycles, Fellowship, and Personal Journeys – Motorcycle riders are motion addicts, and only other riders truly understand the affliction. For a rider, motorcycling is a celebration of life, and for those who have lived through the desperation of addiction, every ride is an affirmation, a commitment, and an enhancement of a regained life. James Hesketh’s celebratory memoir of motorcycle culture and recovery from addiction takes every reader on the road he’s traveled in his own recovery.
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James Hesketh, author of Riding a Straight and Twisty Road.
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“I’ve always been in motion: riding my bicycle as a young kid, hiking in the mountains around the Pacific Northwest as a teenager, spending a year hitchhiking around the US, discovering sailing, living the Jimmy Buffett lifestyle…. I’ve ridden through all of the lower forty-eight states, eastern Canada and northern Mexico, as well as [around] Europe in 2005.”
Hesketh notes that two iconic films, The Wild One and Easy Rider, created an indelible image of the American biker as wanton, daring, and lawless, dedicated only to freedom and pleasure. His tale begins with the changing history of motorcycle culture and proceeds through insights he gained on a recent cross-country ride: a ride that began in response to a personal crisis and ended with the acquisition of a new serenity.
“I’ve talked with bikers and motorcyclists (not the same thing). I’ve found riders who join clean and sober clubs after finding recovery, and others who found recovery after joining a C&S club. I’ve found professional motorcycle racers, custom bike builders, people who ride in clubs and people who ride alone a wide variety of motorcyclists whose lives wouldn’t be complete without an outlet for their passion for life that can only be found on two wheels.”
Hesketh studied journalism at Florida International University and was a motorcycle columnist for The Miami Herald. His work has also appeared in Roadracing World, Rider, MotorcycleUSA.com, and BMW Motorcycle Owners News. His book tour will bring him to Malaprop’s Bookstore and Café (55 Haywood St. in downtown Asheville) on Monday, August 1 from 5 to 6 p.m. for a reading and booksigning. Riding a Straight and Twisty Road is also available from Central Recovery Press.
