BOOK REVIEWS
Northeast By Northwest
Michael Fitterling
2017
ISBN 978-1-890623-51-7
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Many riders, writers use motorcycling to restore body,
restore mind and Mike Fitterling is no different, Northeast By
Northwest is said to be a tale of two journeys, yet it actually
becomes three.
Fitterling is open and honest about his state of mind, his de-
pression and how he combats the lows by riding his bike first to
the Northeast of North America and then to the Northwest, yet
it doesn’t dwell. Northeast By Northwest takes the reader on
a ride across the USA, a turn by turn account of the roads and
highways so that you can plot the very route for yourself.
In doing this Fitterling draws out the journey however,
encounters with friends, new and old, make for an interesting
account … we only wish that there’d been greater interaction.
The further Fitterling goes into his two journeys you get the
feeling that he’s a man of detail, corner by corner, turn by turn
we learn more about the traveller yet what of the ‘restorative
journey’? There’s little insight until Fitterling returns home and
reflects on his journeys.
Fitterling explains in some detail why he undertook his
journeys, the motivation, the inspiration and the outcome. It’s
a brief but beautifully constructed insight into mental illness
and how the author uses motorcycling and travel to deal with
it. He’s open and somewhat candid explaining that his passion
for bikes, like medication, is not a cure for depression but helps
with the coping.
Northeast By Northwest is perhaps not the most adventur-
ous of motorcycle rides but what it lacks in exotic locations,
daring or encounters it makes up for with an insight and brave
approach to a subject many turn away from … it’s an adventure
into one mans mind and we all come
out better for it.
If you've ever questioned what it
means to be adventurous, to ex-
plore, to discover then Northeast By
Northwest is an insight into all from
a perspective you might not have
previously considered.
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TRAVERSE 122
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