"The Wind at Her Back: The Life of Transportation Visionary Deb A. Hubsmith," by Andy Peri and Amity Hotchkiss, is a Biography About One Woman’s Powerful Activism

San Francisco, CA, November 06, 2023 --(PR.com)-- Andy Peri, a lifelong ecological and social justice activist , and Amity Hotchkiss, a writer and editor, are happy to announce the launch of their new book, “The Wind at Her Back: The Life of Transportation Visionary Deb A. Hubsmith,” a powerful depiction of the life of Deb A. Hubsmith, a fiercely dedicated activist who changed the landscape of human-powered transportation, both in her own community and nationwide.

The book presents Deb’s story, beginning with her 1969 birth, at the peak of the 1960s American bike boom – foreshadowing her link to the greater U.S. bicycling movement. Her life’s work ended in 2013, when she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.

Andy Peri, Deb’s partner during the last eight years of her life, always planned to write a book with her, which included the bicycle activism they shared. Andy writes, “The themes we intended to write about included our love for this earth, how to effect change in our communities, [and] our spiritual journeys.”

After five years of working together, the book came to fruition. “We have done our best to represent Deb’s life accurately and to faithfully tell her story,” Andy writes. The environmental legacy represented by the book’s publication has now been realized.

Deb also chose her close friend Amity Hotchkiss to co-write chapters of the book.
Amity’s friendship and spiritual connection with Deb informed her writing about Deb’s life. “In this book, I have attempted to capture the profound nature of Deb’s spiritual life, as it supported her professional work and livelihood,” writes Amity. “She consciously provided a transformational model of how humans could learn to reduce dependence on cars and fossil fuels. Like many others, I could never resist her vision.”

Andy Peri and Amity Hotchkiss’ nonfiction biography takes its title from a traditional Irish blessing: “May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back.”

This is the story of a woman whose love of nature and planet Earth informed her worldview and advocacy work. Deb Hubsmith’s legacy lives on in these stories of how she helped change the landscape of human-powered transportation both in her community and nationwide. She brought her uncanny ability to
weave together the perfect tapestry of political and community support to get major infrastructure projects completed in Marin County, CA, and beyond.

Her work continued to expand with her crucial contribution to bringing Safe Routes to School from a single school in the San Francisco Bay Area to over 14,000 schools in all fifty states. Her work included creating a national organization, The Safe Routes National Partnership, which today has over 800 member organizations.

Outside of her work, Deb’s was an inspired life of yoga and dance, community involvement, and spiritual practices, which helped support her in ultimately letting go of everything she held dear. This book sheds light on her courage and resilience in facing a terminal illness. Indeed, the road did rise up to meet Deb, and the wind held her with grace, wisdom, and beauty, carrying her to her very last breath.

Readers who wish to learn more about this brave activist can purchase “The Wind at Her Back: The Life of Transportation Visionary Deb A. Hubsmith” at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information about the book, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

For media inquiries, call Amity Hotchkiss at 415-250-8515 or Andy Peri at 415-601-2434.