A warm welcome to Jackson newcomers, Tom Ryan and ‘Atticus’By Salley-Anne Partoon
Having recently been signed by Brian DeFiore, the head of DeFiore and Company — the literary agents that handled “Marley and Me” —writer Tom Ryan has moved to Jackson to work on his new book entitled “Following Atticus”, which chronicles Tom’s adventures in the White Mountains for the past four years with his remarkable little dog, Atticus, a 25 pound Miniature Schnauzer.
In the fall of 2004 Atticus and Tom hiked 4,000-foot Mount Garfield, the following summer they hiked all 48 of the 4,000-footers in 11 weeks. They have also gone on to climb 193 winter 4,000-footers in four years, raising money for the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
During this time, little Atticus has overcome blindness, thyroid cancer and being attacked by a large dog 6 days before he and Tom were to be honored at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library as winners of the MSPCA’s annual Human Hero Award. Despite having to undergo emergency surgery, Atticus surprised one and all by proudly marching into the JFK Library as if nothing had happened. Throughout the evening he made his way around the festivities and by night’s end he captured the hearts of everyone.
Tom can often be seen walking the Jackson Loop with Atticus in the mornings; his hiking column, Adventures with Tom and Atticus, is a popular read in the Northcountry News and can be viewed at www.tomandatticus.blogspot.com .
(The Conway Daily Sun's Jackson column can be found on their website.)
In the fall of 2004 Atticus and Tom hiked 4,000-foot Mount Garfield, the following summer they hiked all 48 of the 4,000-footers in 11 weeks. They have also gone on to climb 193 winter 4,000-footers in four years, raising money for the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
During this time, little Atticus has overcome blindness, thyroid cancer and being attacked by a large dog 6 days before he and Tom were to be honored at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library as winners of the MSPCA’s annual Human Hero Award. Despite having to undergo emergency surgery, Atticus surprised one and all by proudly marching into the JFK Library as if nothing had happened. Throughout the evening he made his way around the festivities and by night’s end he captured the hearts of everyone.
Tom can often be seen walking the Jackson Loop with Atticus in the mornings; his hiking column, Adventures with Tom and Atticus, is a popular read in the Northcountry News and can be viewed at www.tomandatticus.blogspot.com .
(The Conway Daily Sun's Jackson column can be found on their website.)
4 comments:
Looks like "youse guys" found a home!
We definitely found a great town to live in. Not sure if there are any places better than Jackson in the spring!
Welcome to Jackson, aka Hummingbird Falls, where Ellie and her beloved mutt Buddy romp and solve mysteries. See The Mysteries of Hummingbird Falls, Riddled to Death, The Fall Hunt, all in the wonderful Jackson Public Library.
Joanne,
Thank you for your welcoming words. I look forward to learning more about Hummingbird Falls when we are not hiking and I am not writing.
I enjoyed your website. Very impressive.
Thanks again,
Tom Ryan
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