Families on Foot is an interactive guide for families to help motivate children to enjoy hiking and walking in nature. The progressive book would outline basic steps to help families with kids grow from beginner to intermediate hikers and to cultivate a love and enthusiasm for the outdoors. (Going beyond this to “advanced hiker” is beyond the scope of this book and the need for families.) Elements include a basic checklist of gear and safety needs, simple exercises for the whole family to prep for getting out on the trail, real life stories (perhaps crowdsourced from the AHS community), and ideas and activities for making the experience fun for kids of all ages. Chock full of aspirational color photography featuring diverse people and kids, the book is also practical in nature, offering information on gear checklists and how to use GPS, read a map, and predict weather before going out on the trail. It would feature experiences in everything from neighborhood parks to secluded trails. Additionally, the book reflects the hallmarks of the American Hiking Society, with whom we would work to make this book a success.

The narrator has been away in New York City for some time. She is progressing very well but she misses her family and familiar surroundings. In order to make connections she started to reminisce on the family members feet. This has allowed her to make even deeper connections with her farm reflecting on the fruits and vegetables. She also remembers pleasant times with her grandmother and grandfather. Feet signify specific periods; they jog memories. The memorable occasion with her grandmother in the cellar is brought back to life as a result of her fathers feet. The afternoons lesson learning parallel lines as well as her earliest connection with books are recounted because of Lisa-Joys feet. Christmas is brought to life because of Matthew-Johns pinky toe. The narrator believes feet have an even greater significance because they show the uniqueness of each family member.

The disintegration of slavery in the Lowcountry of South Carolina began with the federal occupation of Beaufort in 1861. After the Battle of Port Royal, slave owners fled their plantations, simultaneously freeing thousands of enslaved people who labored on cotton plantations throughout the Sea Islands of Beaufort County, South Carolina. Despite slavery destroying the knowledge of family histories in many African American families, Darius Brown illustrates the journey of his ancestors from the colonial period, American Civil War, and thereafter. In this book, the lives of his ancestors are illuminated with the use of archival records that shed light on their arrival from Africa, experiences during slavery, and their lives as freedmen. At the Feet of the Elders is an astonishing account that shows the resilience and perseverance of a people who were held tightly in the grip of chattel slavery. It honors the tradition of preserving oral histories, genetic genealogy, and serves as a template on how to reconstruct the lives of enslaved people.