Laura Ingalls Wilder was 64 years old when she published her first children’s book. By then she had lived through poverty, hunger, heartbreaking loss, and the harsh realities of life on the American frontier. She had never expected to become a famous writer, but the memories she carried from childhood would eventually become some of the most cherished stories in American literature. Her story began on February 7, 1867, in a small log cabin in the Wisconsin wilderness. Her father, Charles Ingalls, valued the freedom of frontier life. Whenever too many neighbors arrived, the family packed their belongings into a covered wagon and set off again. They traveled through Wisconsin, Kansas, Minnesota, and Iowa before reaching Dakota Territory. One of their homes was a dugout built into a hillside in Minnesota. Its walls were made of earth and grass covered the roof. The family faced one of its greatest tests during the terrible winter of 1880 and 1881 near De Smet. Blizzards buried buildings and blocked the railroad. Food grew scarce and fuel became low. Families twisted dried hay into bundles and burned them for heat. The Ingalls family endured. When Laura was thirteen her older sister Mary became seriously ill and lost her sight. Laura tried to help by describing the world around them. At eighteen she married Almanzo Wilder. The couple faced setbacks. Their infant son died before he was a month old. Eventually they moved to Missouri and established Rocky Ridge Farm. During her forties and fifties Laura began writing articles for agricultural publications. Then the Great Depression threatened the security they had worked for. Their daughter Rose, already an established writer, encouraged her mother to put her childhood memories into a book. Laura was hesitant. She was in her sixties and wondered whether anyone would care. Still she began writing. Rose helped prepare the manuscripts. In 1932 *Little House in the Big Woods* was published. She was 64. Readers quickly took to her stories. At a time when millions of Americans were struggling, her books offered a reminder that people could endure difficult circumstances through courage and cooperation. More books followed. She continued writing into her late seventies and lived long enough to see her books embraced across the country. On February 10, 1957, just three days after her ninetieth birthday, she died at Rocky Ridge Farm. She did not publish her first book in her twenties or thirties. She began her lasting literary legacy at 64, after decades of hardship and ordinary hard work.

A 3-year-old boy had vanished into the Texas wilderness, and after days of searching, nobody could find him. Helicopters, drones, and search teams had scoured the area, but the little boy was still missing. Then a stranger attending a Bible study felt an overwhelming conviction that he needed to go into those woods himself. It happened in Grimes County, Texas, where little Christopher Ramirez disappeared while playing outside his family’s home. As the hours turned into days, hundreds of people joined the desperate search. With no food, water, or shelter, Christopher was alone in the thick woods while his family prayed for him to come home. Miles away, a man named Tim Halfin heard about the missing child during a Bible study. Tim later said he felt the Holy Spirit urging him to help. He couldn’t shake the feeling, so the following morning, he drove to the area and began searching through the woods. Then, against seemingly impossible odds, Tim spotted a little boy standing among the trees. It was Christopher. After spending approximately three days missing in the wilderness, the toddler was alive. Tim carried him to safety, and Christopher was reunited with his family. His mother called it a miracle. Tim credited God for leading him there, and an entire community celebrated the answer to prayers they had been lifting up for days.

The beatings started three months after the wedding and continued for thirty-three years. Emma Gatewood’s husband broke her teeth, cracked her ribs, and beat her sometimes ten times in a single year. At a time when a husband’s violence against his wife was rarely questioned, her refuge was always the same: she would escape to the woods surrounding their farm. She often brought her children with her, teaching them to identify birds and medicinal plants. In 1939, after her husband broke her teeth and cracked one of her ribs, Gatewood fought back by throwing a sack of flour at him and a sheriff’s deputy arrested her. The mayor of the small West Virginia town saw her battered face and helped her find safety. After thirty-three years she received a divorce and raised her last three children alone. After reading a National Geographic article in 1949 she became intrigued by the idea that no woman had hiked the full Appalachian Trail solo. “If those men can do it, I can do it,” she said. The hike was more difficult than she expected. Much of the trail was in disrepair. She kept up a pace of 14 miles a day. In 1955, after hiking for 146 days, she became the first woman to complete the entire trail by herself in one season. She returned in 1957 and again in 1964 at the age of 76, becoming the first person to hike the AT three times. Her feats raised public awareness of the trail. Her descriptions of the poor conditions prompted improvements. She is considered a pioneer of ultralight backpacking. She advised picking up food at local groceries and making a simple rain cape and sling bag. Emma Gatewood walked into the forest to escape from violence, but she walked out of it to make history. “I would never have started this trip if I had known how tough it was, but I couldn’t and I wouldn’t quit.”

A school bus carrying 51 children was hijacked by the very man trusted to drive them safely home. He took their phones, threatened to kill them, and poured gasoline inside the bus. But one 13-year-old boy was willing to risk his own safety to give everyone on board a chance to survive. It happened near Milan, Italy, where the driver suddenly changed course and took the children hostage. Some were restrained with cable ties as he drove toward an unknown destination. But 13-year-old Ramy Shehata had managed to keep a phone hidden. Pretending to pray, he secretly helped get a call out for help while the driver was nearby. One wrong move could have exposed him to the man threatening to kill everyone on board. Police raced to intercept the bus and forced it to stop. But as officers moved in, the driver set the bus on fire. Police smashed the windows and desperately pulled children to safety as flames spread through the vehicle. By the time the fire was extinguished, the bus was a burned-out shell. But miraculously, all 51 children had escaped alive. Ramy was later granted Italian citizenship in recognition of his courage. He was just a schoolboy trying to get home, but when dozens of children were in danger, he found the courage to act. Let’s give this young hero the recognition he deserves.