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The duo will be at Harvard Book Store Aug. 13, the 20th stop on their book tour.
Brad and Joy Ryan at Sand Beach at Acadia National Park in Maine. Jessica Christine
Brad Ryan was estranged from his grandmother for years after the divorce of his parents before a hike on the Appalachian Trail inspired him to reach out, triggering the pair’s epic seven-year journey across America.
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“I asked her how she’d feel about going to see her first mountain,” said the 45-year-old Ohio native. “And she said, ‘What time are you picking me up?’”
Grandma Joy, as she’s affectionately called, was 85 when the pair visited their first U.S. national park. Between 2015 and 2023, they visited all 63 national parks, pausing their travels only during the height of the pandemic. Ryan subsequently wrote a memoir, released in June, called “Grandma Joy and Me: A Journey of Healing, One National Park at a Time.” The pair will be at Harvard Book Store Aug. 13 for a discussion about their journey.
Ryan, a veterinarian and wildlife conservationist, said the book is about healing generational trauma and “working through the family dynamics that many people choose not to touch, and we did that together on the open road.”
Ryan said his mental health was “in shambles” when he reached out to Grandma Joy. He was battling depression and suicidal thoughts. He was also in what he called the “pressure cooker” of veterinary school. Then he took his grandmother to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
“That weekend in the Smokies had really filled my cup in a way I had never experienced before,” he said. “Being with her, for me, was almost a time portal. We were able to go back to a simpler point in life and just be there for each other.”
Grand Teton National Park in July 2026.
After Ryan’s grandfather died in 1994, Joy had taken a job in a grocery store where she worked until she was nearly 80. Her exercise consisted of daily walks through the cemetery of her small town of Duncan Falls, Ohio, Ryan said.
“I think it was time. She was just ready. She was sitting on her front porch at the same house for half a century,” Ryan said.
A healthy dose of nature turned out to be healing for both of them, Ryan said.
“Nature is a non-judgement space, it’s a neutral space, and one of the few places you can go and have that quietude and be grounded in yourself. Have conversations,” Ryan said.
He also hopes their story shows that age shouldn’t hold anyone back from their dreams.
“No matter how old we get, no matter how much that exterior case gets weathered and changes over time, we all have an inner child that needs to be fed. And we were able to do that together. It melts the years away,” he said.
Grandma Joy was 93 in 2023 when they visited their 63rd and final national park, the National Park of American Samoa. She is currently the oldest person to visit all of the national parks.
Acadia National Park in Maine, the 29th park they visited, played a big role in revealing their story to the world, Ryan said. After Ryan posted a photo of himself and Joy and tagged the park on Instagram, park officials shared the photo and it went viral, he said.
Next up for the traveling duo? Visiting all seven continents.
Grandma Joy received her first passport at age 91. Next month, the pair will complete their mission of visiting all seven continents when they go to Australia and Thailand with the help of Road Scholar, a not-for-profit leader in educational travel for older adults (which also helped them complete their visit to Channel Islands National Park in California in 2018).
“It’s just a remarkable legacy,” Ryan said. “I’m really proud of her for being by my side through all of these adventures.”
10 questions with Grandma Joy
Grandma Joy shared the challenges and joys of exploring all 63 national parks with her grandson.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2015.
1. Boston.com: Did you ever imagine you would visit every U.S. National Park with your grandson?
Grandma Joy: No. I didn’t. I didn’t figure I’d ever get off that front porch.
2. Boston.com: What has been the best part of traveling with him?
Grandma Joy: Getting to meet all of the nice people we met in the parks. You may not be able to speak the same language but you can understand each other in the parks when they’re talking about what they see.
3. Boston.com: Did the trips make you closer with your grandson?
Grandma Joy: It sure did. When you ride in the car for that long and you can’t get out you have no choice [she laughs].
4. Boston.com: Which park was your favorite and why?
Grandma Joy: It had to be Katmai [National Park and Preserve] in Alaska to see all the bears catch the fish. All of the fish go up stream and the bears catch them as they come.
5. Boston.com: What did you think of Acadia National Park in Maine?
Grandma Joy: We went up there but I wasn’t feeling too peppy on the top of that mountain [Cadillac Mountain] because I got some bad clam chowder.
6. Boston.com: What did you find the most challenging during your travels?
Grandma Joy: I guess trying to keep up with everybody. Every day was a challenge. You never know what to expect. But I was glad to be able to do that. [We saw] beautiful waterfalls, all the gorgeous animals, and the beautiful flowers. When you go to those parks you sure get your money’s worth, I’ll tell you that.
7. Boston.com: Tell us something that surprised you during your travels
Grandma Joy: When we went to Alaska we packed our suitcases with mufflers and our gloves and scarves and we stepped off the plane it was 85 degrees and we were on top of a sand dune. I said, ‘Are you sure we are in the right place?’ [she laughs]. We thought we were going to be cold and, my goodness, we were sweating.
8. Boston.com: Tell us a favorite memory from your journeys
Grandma Joy: When we were watching a moose [at Glacier National Park] a little 4-year-old girl came over and sat beside me and she had a pair of binoculars and she wanted to share them with me. She couldn’t talk to me and I couldn’t talk to her but we had more fun passing the binoculars back and forth.
9. Boston.com: You are the oldest person to visit all of the U.S. National Parks. How does that make you feel?
Grandma Joy: It’s a great wonder. I imagine somebody else will pop up one of these days. By that time, I won’t care.
10. Boston.com: What is your message to older people who may be hesitant to travel?
Grandma Joy: You won’t know if you can do it until you try. Don’t give up and don’t believe what people tell you. Once you grow gray hair and turn 60 people tell you you can’t do that. Get out there and show them you can.
Kristi Palma
Kristi Palma is the travel writer for Boston.com, focusing on the six New England states. She covers airlines, hotels, and things to do across Boston and New England. She is the author of the award-winning Scenic Six, a weekly travel newsletter.
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