(6-1-26) According to Jake Sansing on his Facebook page Jake Walks America-

I became homeless after I got out of the Army in 2012 and spent the next 14 years walking all over America. I’ve been through every state in the US and have written 2 books about my walks. As of May 28, 2026, I am driving my van and walking with my books.

This week Jake finally made it to Celina.

Jake visited a bunch of Stateline area communities…St. Marys, Wapakoneta,Van Wert and Lima.

The whole story (more or less):

I got out of the Army in the summer of 2011 and moved back to my home state of Tennessee, where I opened a recording studio. In December of that year, I lost everything in a tornado and was homeless. I then began walking between towns to look for work, but I couldn’t find anything. No one wanted to hire me because I was homeless and also lost my vehicle in the tornado. After looking for work for six months, i realized walking was helping with my PTSD, so I decided to walk across America. For one, walking was helping me, and two, I felt like there was nothing for me there anyway.

With no money, no support, no rides, and no panhandling, I spent the next four years traveling on foot from Tennessee to Delaware, to California, to Florida, to Alaska, back to Florida, and back to California again. I did a lot of hunting, trapping, fishing, foraging, and dumpster diving for food. I also made a lot of my own gear. I would occasionally work odd jobs here and there, but mostly just enough to pay for my phone bill. Although I had no money, for those for years, I helped to raise $80,000 between St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Wounded Warriors Project, and Shot At Life. To me, that felt like work. I was getting up every day and walking, and that was all I had to do. Despite that, I dealt with a lot of backlash just for being homeless. Gas stations would refuse to let me use their restrooms, restaurants would kick me out, people would throw piss and dip spit bottles at me when they drove past. It was not at all like it is now. I did not have this cart or a big Facebook following. I was a nobody. Not trying to sell a sob story, but it’s the truth.

After doing that for four years, I wrote and self-published a book about all of my experiences. I then got a second backpack, which I kept strapped across my chest and loaded with 20 books at a time. I then walked with that for 2 years, selling autographed copies to people on the streets. That’s how long it took for me to save up enough money to buy a car. I then made my way to Los Angeles, California and began working for Amazon as a delivery driver. However, I hated Los Angeles, so I took off every chance I could get to go walking. I was basically working just so I could save up enough money to leave. During that time, I walked from Los Angeles to Utah and back. And from Los Angeles to Oregon and back. I finally realized Los Angeles just wasn’t for me, so I sold everything and left. That’s when I got my cart.

I then decided I wanted to walk from Oregon to Maine to promote my book. The goal was to try and sell 10,000 copies by the time I reached Maine, and I wanted to use that money to start a non-profit campground for vets with PTSD. However, that didn’t happen. I was only able to sell 2,500 copies, which was nowhere near enough.

During that walk, I met my now girlfriend in Indiana when I was walking through. We’ve been together for two years now. Since we’ve been together, I’ve continued walking, but not full-time like I used to. I’ll typically go out for a few weeks or a couple of months, and then go back to spend some time with her. I spent all of this last fall and winter with her, and I used that time to write my second book. That’s why I’m chubby lol but I’m back to walking now and don’t see another book in my future for quite some time, so I’m sure I’ll walk it off soon.

At some point, hopefully soon, the plan is for her to drive a van while I walk. She will keep the van loaded with 500-1000 books at a time, so I will be able to walk with my books and she can restock me throughout the day. And at the end of the day, we will be able to spend time together. But for now, I’m trying to balance walking and my relationship the best that I can.

I am walking to promote my books. I am not panhandling. I am not looking for handouts. I am not rude. I am not a scam. This is now my job and this is what I have to do to get my books out there. I am not walking across America at this time, although it may happen again once my girlfriend can join me. Yes, people occasionally help, and that’s fine. It’s good for them, and I appreciate it. But that is not my intention. I have never asked for anything. I am simply walking to promote my books, trying to get my story out there. It has not always been this way. What you are seeing now is progression. I started from nothing.

I’ve been doing this for 14 years. I’ve been through every state in the US except for Hawaii. I’m at about 18,400 miles so far. If you’re interested in my books, you can find them here jakewalksamerica.com✌️