Some stories stay on the page. This one seeps into your bloodstream.
Elise Rose Richmond’s Take It Outside isn’t polished inspiration or a highlight reel—it’s raw, unfiltered proof that a life well-lived often looks messy up close.
She moves through her adventures like a washing machine of emotions—spinning through fear, awe, fatigue, and elation, often in the same afternoon. No vocabulary feels big enough to hold what she describes, but she manages to let you feel it: the blisters, the bone-deep cold, the split-second decisions between pushing on and pulling back.
The list of what she’s done is staggering—
crossing the Gobi Desert for 57 days,
kayaking the Murray River for 56,
cycling across Australia and New Zealand with a paraglider strapped to the back,
climbing peaks in Nepal and Bolivia.
Yet the appeal isn’t the stats. It’s the intent behind them.
The deliberate choice to live with discomfort as a constant companion.
The willingness to trade a padded bank account for days spent chasing what matters most.
The acceptance that the road worth taking often has more grit than glamour.
This isn’t new for her. From the discipline of being a child actor to pushing through every form of physical training, she’s been testing her limits for as long as she can remember. The outdoors simply raised the stakes—deserts that demand resilience, rivers that demand patience, mountains that demand humility.
Her partnership with Luke threads through the book in the most grounded way.
It’s not about romance set against mountaintop sunsets. It’s about sharing load and risk, trusting each other’s judgement when weather turns, and adjusting plans without ego. Their relationship adapts the way their routes do—shaped by terrain, time, and what the day demands.
One of the most striking choices she’s made is stepping away from social media. Not because she’s out of stories—her life overflows with them—but because she refuses to let documenting an experience become more important than living it. In a world constantly performing for an audience, that decision carries weight.
Take It Outside makes it clear: adventure isn’t always neat or photogenic.
It’s often muddy, cold, exhausting, and unprofitable. But for those willing to pay in discomfort, the return is immeasurable.
Elise spends that currency without hesitation. And reading her story makes you want to check your own balance.
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