Throughout her life, Renee Gilmore has been in love with the open road. Her passion for exploration has taken her across all seven continents-but the real journey has been much more personal. In Wayfinding, she confronts the impetus behind her wanderlust: a lifetime shaped by loss, betrayal, and sexual violence. Told through a series of car trips and postcards from the road, this powerful memoir maps a route toward healing, acceptance, and hope, with stops at Waffle House and the Monaco Grand Prix along the way. Narrated with unflinching honesty and flashes of humor, Wayfinding is the story of a fiercely resilient woman determined not only to survive but to remap a new life filled with freedom, connection, and joy.

Renee Gilmore is a neurodivergent multi-genre writer, essayist, and poet. She writes about her experiences growing up in a family of car enthusiasts - mechanics, racers, and collectors - and navigating a family full of secrets. She fearlessly explores the illusion of happiness. Through her writing and lived experience, Renee proves that resilience can be practiced both by accident and intention. Renee holds degrees from the University of New Mexico and Hamline University. Her work has appeared in many literary journals, including The Louisville Review, Fatal Flaw, and Pink Panther Magazine, among others. Her debut memoir, Wayfinding, is forthcoming in October 2025. She lives in suburban Minneapolis with her husband, Steven.