As a child, Isaac Fitzgerald was captivated by the legendary Johnny Appleseed, drawn by family ties to the legend, his father’s larger-than-life stories, and a shared restlessness to leave home and discover what lies beyond. In American Rambler, he sets out, walking from Massachusetts to Indiana on a year-long journey to follow Appleseed’s path, turning a childhood fascination into a profound reckoning of loss and grief, ritual and faith, grimy gas-station bathrooms and scenic apple picking. A moving blend of memoir, history, and travelogue, American Rambler is at once an ode to the American heartland and an antidote to the breakneck pace of modern life.
Isaac Fitzgerald is the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir Dirtbag, Massachusetts. He appears frequently on The Today Show and is the author of the children’s book How to Be a Pirate. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Esquire, and numerous other publications.
