Mountain to Mountain: A Journey of Adventure and Activism for the Women of Afghanistan

Being inspired to act can take many forms. For some its taking a weekend to volunteer but for Shannon Galpin it meant leaving her career selling her house launching a nonprofit and committing her life to advancing education and opportunity for women and girls. Focusing on the war-torn country of Afghanistan Galpin and her organization Mountain2Mountain have touched the lives of hundreds of men women and children. As if launching a nonprofit wasnt enough in 2009 Galpin became the first woman to ride a mountain bike in Afghanistan. Now shes using that initial bike ride to gain awareness around the country encouraging people to use their bikes as a vehicle for social change and justice to support a country where women dont have the right to ride a bike.. In Mountain to Mountain her lyric and honest memoir Galpin describes her first forays into fundraising her deep desire to help women and girls halfway across the world her love for adventure and sports and her own inspiration to be so much more than just another rape victim. During her numerous trips to Afghanistan Shannon reaches out to politicians and journalists as well as everyday Afghans ― teachers prison inmates mothers daughters ― to cross a cultural divide and find common ground. She narrates harrowing encounters exhilarating bike rides humorous episodes and the heartbreak inherent in a country that is still recovering from decades of war and occupation.