Join us to meet local author Brandon Weis on Saturday, December 14 at 2:00 pm! He will talk about his experiences in writing his book, This Is Gonna Hurt, and will be available to sign books.

This is Gonna Hurt is the embodiment of unrelenting pursuit of a singular goal, no matter how much pain, adversity, or hardship stood in the way. When Brandon set out to hike over 7,000 miles in a year, he knew it was an absurd and improbable goal; he knew he would be alone nearly the whole time; and he knew there would be a lot of pain and struggle. But he also knew that it would be more rewarding than he could ever imagine, more beautiful than he could dream of, and when he did meet people, they would always be memorable characters. He also knew that he would do it. He was going to get there or die trying. While this mindset may not be the most healthy, he believed it was necessary to achieve something truly great.

Brandon Weis is from Ottawa, Ohio and still lives there when he’s not traveling around. He graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in Finance and History.

Brandon went on his first backpacking trip as a sophomore in college in 2018 in the High Sierra after somewhat accidentally signing up for the trip. After that, he went on three section hikes on the Appalachian Trail over school breaks before tackling the Calendar Year Triple crown in 2021 after his plans of hiking the PCT in 2020 were cancelled. He never thought he would write a book until he seemed to have started without really knowing it.

Brandon hiked ~8,300 miles in 2021 and thought he'd be done for a while, but after finishing the first draft of his book in early 2022, he ended up leaving just several months after he got home to take on some more long-distance trails totaling ~4,500 miles in 2022.