A Love Letter in a Hammock: A memoir of love, endurance, and finding light in the dark

Of course I wanted to save her. When you love someone like that, you think they’re carved from something eternal—you think they’ll live forever.

So how did I end up in a jungle—hollowed by loneliness, chasing a cure that never existed?

Love Letter in a Hammock is a memoir of love, loss, ultrarunning, and extraordinary adventure. What began as one man’s attempt to outrun grief became an insane and unforgettable coast-to-coast crossing of the Volcanic Panamanian jungle—his last, desperate way of loving her when saving her was impossible.

Darkly funny and unflinchingly honest, David Shiels turns blisters, breakdowns, and the brutal beauty of endurance into love’s final act.

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Author's Note:

Expect grief, profanity, dark humour, and unfiltered truth.

No graphic medical detail, no melodrama—just love, survival, and what happens when you have to keep moving through the hardest parts of life.

If you love raw memoirs about mental health, extreme adventure, and finding meaning after loss, I’d be grateful to have you along for the journey.