Hello My Name is Sharkbait by Michael Neiman Review: A Humorous, Heartfelt Appalachian Trail Memoir

Hello My Name is Sharkbait is a memoir — rooted in trail journals and shaped over more than two decades — recounting Michael Neiman's complete thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail: 2,192 miles from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. The author's own promotional copy frames the central irony cleanly: there are three kinds of people wild enough to attempt a thru-hike — young romantics chasing glory, older souls seeking a final adventure, and the occasional runaway. Then there is Neiman, a guy who simply loved hiking and was naïve enough to think that would be sufficient. As the book makes clear from the outset, it wasn't. That gap between expectation and brutal reality is the engine the narrative runs on.

The Appalachian Trail thru-hike memoir is a well-established genre, with entries ranging from the comic to the gravely philosophical. What distinguishes Neiman's contribution, according to the book's own framing, is its dual register: the author describes the story as "hilariously true," positioning the work as one that earns its laughs through candor rather than embellishment. The trail is covered in full — through blizzards, dehydration, and stretches of genuine doubt — making this a complete end-to-end account rather than a curated highlight reel. Published by HN Publishing in December 2025, the book arrived after more than twenty years of development, a timeline that speaks to the author's commitment to doing the story justice. Notably, it reached the #1 new release position in the Walking, Solo Travel Guides, and Travel Adventure Fiction categories in its opening week, according to Neiman's own reporting on his website.

The book's central promise is that physical endurance and genuine comedy are not mutually exclusive, and the source material bears this out. Neiman does not sanitize the suffering — blizzards, dehydration, and sustained self-doubt all feature — but the narrative voice, as the author describes it, keeps the tone grounded in humor rather than martyrdom. Beyond the trail itself, the memoir deepens into territory that distinguishes it from a straightforward adventure account: the unexpected friendships formed along the route, and, most compellingly, the evolving bond between Neiman and his father, whose long-established roles as parent and child quietly invert over the course of the journey. That intergenerational thread gives the book an emotional dimension that extends well beyond hiking.

Readers seeking a technical hiking manual or a comprehensive trail guide will find that this memoir is not designed to serve that function — Neiman's separate companion title, Platinum-Blazing the Appalachian Trail, covers the practical terrain of best meals, resupply stops, and trail comforts. Hello My Name is Sharkbait is a personal narrative first; the trail is the setting, but human experience is the subject. Additionally, as a memoir built from a specific hiker's voice, tone, and perspective, readers who prefer a more journalistic or detached style of adventure writing may find the book's self-deprecating, personality-forward approach a matter of taste. At 392 pages, it is also a substantial read, which suits immersive trail-narrative enthusiasts but may give casual readers pause.

Hello My Name is Sharkbait is squarely aimed at readers who love outdoor adventure narratives with real emotional stakes — those who have hiked the AT, dreamed about it, or simply respond to stories about ordinary people attempting extraordinary things. The father-son dynamic woven through the journey gives the memoir crossover appeal beyond the hiking community, making it a natural recommendation for readers drawn to stories about shifting family relationships across a shared challenge. Fans of the humorous, self-deprecating end of the trail-memoir spectrum — rather than the austere survival-writing tradition — will find Neiman's approach a comfortable and engaging fit.