Soon after the conclusion of Rush's Test for Echo Tour on July 4, 1997, Peart's first daughter and then-only child, 19-year-old Selena Taylor, was killed in a single-car accident on Highway 401 near the town of Brighton, Ontario, on August 10, 1997. His common-law wife of 22 years, Jacqueline Taylor, succumbed to cancer only 10 months later on June 20, 1998. Peart cites her death to the result of a "broken heart" and called it "a slow suicide by apathy. She just didn't care."
In his book Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road, Peart writes that he told his bandmates at Selena's funeral, "consider me retired." Peart took a long sabbatical to mourn and reflect, and traveled extensively throughout North and Central America on his motorcycle, covering 88,000 km (55,000 mi). After his journey, Peart decided to return to the band. Peart wrote the book as a chronicle of his geographical and emotional journey.