Carter lord,
St. Augustine, FL
Readers Have This to Say…
“Rarely have I read a book in life that so completely crossed lines and embraced everyone. It’s unusual for the spiritual truths of life to be spoken of so obliquely and profoundly at the same time. There is so much great writing in here and such a deep understanding of the oneness of all people, and the honoring of all points of view that it kept me continually surprised as you crossed these political lines so effortlessly and beautifully. Very unusual. Human angst, real issues, everyone honored.
At a time in the life of our country where massive divisiveness and self-righteous preaching is the norm, and PC bullshit is rampant, your book is so refreshing and so rich in its consideration of not only all life but all people. And on top of the human differences, the physical understanding and love of the land, the plants, the different locales. Way to go. I salute you.”
Ruth norman, Portland, OR
“I began reading Walking the High Desert, thinking: “Hmmm…she’s quoting Bruce Chatwin.” By the end, I thought: “She has joined Bruce Chatwin at the pinnacle of travel writing.” I also thought: “So this is what finding your voice means.” Congratulations, you have found the perfect key for your music. I have often been disappointed in writing groups when those who can’t write are given endless time and those who write well are passed over with a quick round of praise, no indication of what’s praiseworthy. To redress, here are a few of the satisfying aspects of your book:
Your intelligence and authority are the air feeding the content; they are more manifest than ever before.
The book is full of interesting trivia: so, there’s a reason for those ridiculous balls on tennis socks.
You come across as deeply informed by quoting authors like Chatwin, Duncan (if you haven’t read The Brothers K, it’s one of my top favorites) and Stegner.
You sent me to the dictionary often for words like playa, scarp, teasel, rhyolite, sago pondweed, wideon grass, sawyer and many others. I love that.
A book with a moral compass, what an idea.
You were psychological and spiritual without using psycho-spiritual language.
You offer a broad range of views, allowing the reader to appreciate the complexity of what you are talking about.
The map was more than helpful. I bookmarked it and referred to it about a hundred times.
Your language and use of it is original and affecting: “I fell in love early on with this maze of emerald greenery in the spring: the knee-buckling canvas of russet, amber, ochre in the fall: of meadows, dikes, marshes, the cacophony of thousands of birds — to me a High Desert Eden.”
You will smell the perfume of sage daubed on the wrist of the afternoon after a desert rain and the dank, fecund bouquet rising off the rivers at dusk.”
Your work is sassy, serious and sublime, all at the same time. It is that perfect blend of knowledge, love, and research. I am so grateful to you for the trek through the desert I’ll never make myself.”
Pam bodie, tumalo, or
“I just finished Walking the High Desert. Sitting in my Aspen grove, I am thinking of your description of the family of roots that resonate from the "mother" trees. May your thought-provoking questions and your strong love of this most dramatic landscape similarly spread outward, to support the collaborative answers to the myriad problems that challenge the use of our limited resources.
Your book is uplifting in so many ways, encouraging in these times when it seems such negativity seems to reign. in the desert you so appreciate, beauty is often hidden from superficial glance. Likewise, imaginative solutions for all those who use the land will not come from first-glance efforts. You've shown how it can happen.
Your descriptions of the land paint such vivid images of the high desert with new light: the places I've also spent time in, flown over, and loved. I'm eager to go exploring again. In addition, I salute you for your strength to get out and walk the walk, as it were.
Out of the corner of my eye there's a ground squirrel just a few feet away, chastising me, his tail flicking to accent every chirp: "what will you, one person, actually do" and "are you on your trail" to be a better part of the community of the earth. That's what I heard, although actually he's probably saying "what are you doing in my aspen grove" "go away". Here's one quote from your book that helped me answer what I heard: with your basket of words, sing something good into existence.
Thank you for using your inspired words, to sing into existence this book of love and caring for the community of the High Desert and beyond.