Brad Ryan has a wildlife adventuring distinction many Americans dream of – visiting every national park. And he has one that very few dream of, or accomplish: doing so with his grandmother. At 93 years old, Joy Ryan became the oldest person to hike all 63. Together, she and Brad pursued the challenge, hoping to rebuild their relationship along the way.
Brad recently shared the story of their travels, trauma and connection in his new book, “Grandma Joy and Me: A Journey of Healing, One National Park at a Time.” Brad never intended to visit all 63 national parks. Initially he just wanted his grandmother to see a mountain.
“This was supposed to be a one-and-done camping trip,” Brad said. “She told me when she was 80 years old that she had never seen a mountain, and that was something that I thought was simple in its scale, that we could do that in a weekend.”
Small beginnings
The two had shared a love of nature since Brad was a child. In his early years, Joy took him to the parks in and around their hometown of Duncan Falls, Ohio.
But when Brad was a teenager, his parents divorced and he lost contact with his grandmother. Years later they got back in touch, but their relationship had suffered from years of no communication. Brad thought a camping trip would be a way to reconnect.
“The US national parks for my Grandma Joy and I makes sense in the context of our relationship and our love for nature,” Brad said
But Brad was in school, studying to be a veterinarian, so the trip was delayed. By the time they were able to go, Brad had been struggling with mental health issues. Still, he pressed forward and they traveled to Tennessee.
“We finally had a break away to The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and at age 85, she not only saw her first mountain, she slept in a tent, she fell off the air mattress twice and laughed about it,” Brad said. “The next day when the fog lifted she not only saw her first mountain, she climbed one too.”
Brad said that he returned to school “a different person.”
“After four years of struggling with chronic depression and suicidal ideations, suddenly my lens was widened and there was a reset in my brain and I realized that there was still joy to find in life and there was a world waiting for me on the other side of vet school,” Brad said.
Brad and Joy set their eyes to the next national park and hit the open road.
Finding a connection
The time spent traveling together allowed them to discuss the issues in their relationship. They found that being outdoors and away from their regular routines and responsibilities was conducive to being emotionally vulnerable with each other.
“Being able to go out into the wilderness, and take a hike with my grandmother, and hike at her pace, and ask questions and gain a lot of insight into why I am the way that I am was hugely healing,” Brad said.
The trip also put their ages into perspective for Brad.
“When we were in the Redwood Forest, I was watching her look up into the canopy as high as she could go. In that moment, I realized we make too much of the age divide. She is 51 years older than me, but I said, ‘In Redwood years, we’re practically the same age,’” Brad said.
Along the way, Brad began sharing their journey on social media. “Grandma Joy” gained thousands of new grandchildren on Instagram, who flocked to their videos for her stories and wisdom. With the release of Brad’s book in June, the two are meeting a number of those followers on the duo’s 50-state book tour.
“I kept imagining myself having the ability to connect with people who’ve been through similar things,” Brad said. “It’s hugely healing, it’s hugely connective being out on the open road on this book tour.”
While visiting every national park was a natural fit for him and Joy, Brad hopes that readers of his book will take away the message that you don’t have to go on an epic journey to find connection with others. It can be as simple as visiting a local park together or sitting with the window open and listening to birds outside.
“At the end of the day, what we’re all looking for is the same thing. We’re looking for connection, we’re looking for a dose of nature, a reset [and] a place to quiet the mind,” Brad said. “My message is that there is a whole new world of healing out there if we look at the power of intergenerational connection.”
Ohio fans of Brad Ryan and Grandma Joy can meet them at book signings at the Bexley Public Library in Columbus on July 28, or at Woven Words Bookshop in Akron on Aug. 1.