Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars | 4,335 ratings

Price: 26.21

Last update: 01-11-2025


About this item

In less than a year, Neil Peart lost both his 19-year-old daughter, Selena, and his wife, Jackie. Faced with overwhelming sadness and isolated from the world in his home on the lake, Peart was left without direction. That lack of direction lead him on a 55,000 mile journey by motorcycle across much of North America, down through Mexico to Belize, and back again. He had needed to get away, but he had not really needed a destination. His personal odyssey is chronicled with his travel adventures, meeting up with friends and family, and the grieving, thinking, crying, and storytelling of life as he rides. Along the way, he plays music from his internal jukebox, yet nothing seems to let him find peace. And without peace, all he could do was keep riding until he found it.


Top reviews from the United States

  • SteveW
    5.0 out of 5 stars Just a Really Good Book
    Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2013
    For many years I had heard that Neil Peart had written some books but I never got around to checking any of them out until just recently. I like Rush, I have liked Rush for decades and am always impressed with the talent and virtuosity of all three musicians and, though I knew Neil Peart was the writer of most of the lyrics, I had also heard he was a very good writer. So when something recently got me thinking about Rush, Mr. Peart's books came to mind again and on a whim I bought two of them, one of which was 'Ghost Rider'.

    The inspiration for his journey, based on truly tragic events in his life, is one I do not wish on anyone. I, too, am a passionate motorcycle rider, although without the means to journey as Mr. Peart did, and still does. But that aside, his passion for riding, for being in motion, his thoughts about riding and thoughts while riding, his interest and enjoyment in seeing and "discovering" new or mostly forgotten places were as though he were drawing thoughts from my own mind. I could totally relate to his mindset of "just moving forward" and how he feels when riding and it has inspired me to work towards being able to take longer journeys of discovery or, at the very least, journeys composed mostly of the simplicity of moving forward, regardless of direction and without defined, absolute goals.

    This is a really good book, it's well written, entertaining, sad at points, but also with some bits that made me laugh out loud, too. It's a book I genuinely looked forward to picking up again each time, particularly after a long day, and it was a whole lot more enjoyable than watching television. And though sadness and tragedy inspired the four-month trek, and made clear the journey had become "The Healing Road", it never dampened Mr. Peart's appetite for reading, and the list of books one could compile from reading "Ghost Rider" is quite long, and I'm interested in doing just that: compile the titles into a list and head to my local library to see if some, or all, of those books are available. So it's a book that can inspire the reader in a number of ways, all the while painting vivid, entertaining pictures of the Canadian, American, and Mexican landscapes while fueling one's passion and desire for riding even more, and the need to go forth and discover.
  • Johnny Roc
    5.0 out of 5 stars Professor Peart Teaches A Lesson on Healing
    Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2020
    In this book about his travels on what he refers to as the “healing road,” Neil Peart, aka “The Professor,” world renowned drummer and lyricist of the Canadian band Rush bears his soul and his reflections on what it was like to lose his 18 year old daughter in a single car accident and then, six months later, his wife, due to cancer (although he claims it was really a broken heart). Along the way, covering many thousands of miles on his motorcycle on the North American continent, in often treacherous conditions and staying in mostly cheap motels, writing letters to a few close confidants along his journey, he realizes his love for those who remain and their love for him is ultimately enough to keep him going down the healing road and to the resurrection of his “baby soul” - the glimmer of hope that remained, on the heel of the tragedies, and that he committed to nurturing as he departed his lake home in the Quebec countryside at beginning of his journey in the fall of 1997. As a long time Rush fan, I wish I had read this book earlier as it reveals - in great depth and elegant prose - the human side of this truly world class musician who was also a very committed husband, father, loyal friend to several, and of course band mate and partner extraordinaire to guitarist Alex Lifeson and bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee, to whom he would eventually return and with whom he would resume and expand upon an already phenomenal, previous body of work unparalleled in the progressive rock music genre which garnered them fame, wealth, and notoriety, including induction into the rock and roll hall of fame, several years before the bands retirement band and Mr. Peart’s passing away on January 7, 2020 due to brain cancer. If you are already a Rush fan, this uniquely riveting personal voyage of love, loss and survival will provide deep inspiration and will take your admiration of Neil Peart to an entirely different level.
  • Non-techie
    5.0 out of 5 stars Must read for any Peart fan
    Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2024
    The author bares his soul and grief in this amazing tale of his journey back from horrible personal tragedies. It’s a story of redemption and recovery. By far this is Neil’s best book.

    • Best Sellers in

     
     

    Jamaican Patois: Get Past Ya Mon and Speak Jamaican Fi Real

    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 104
    13.08
     
     

    Round Here and Over Yonder: A Front Porch Travel Guide by Two Progressive Hillbillies (Yes, That’s a Thing.)

    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 118
    17.32
     
     

    Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life

    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 10173
    26.21
     
     

    My Own Magic: A Reappearing Act

    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 602
    22.04
     
     

    Your Table Is Ready: Tales of a New York City Maître D'

    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 2420
    17.71
     
     

    Travels with Charley in Search of America

    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 9418
    13.78
     
     

    Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other

    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 13351
    13.98
     
     

    The Pilgrimage

    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 3669
    16.53