The Way Home

Provocative from the opening lines, this is a treasure trove of love, loss, humor, and self-discovery amidst the trees and cabins of the Adirondack Mountains:Somewhere around the age of 40, when I should have been deciding if I wanted to take my last chance at having a second child, should have been looking for a good job. I began instead to learn everything I could about staying out all night in the woods. Since I live in Manhattan, this pursuit could hardly be construed as even marginally relevant to my real life. Think Gretal Ehrlich and Annie Dillard. But this work is both more personal and more universal. Think Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer for sensitivity to the natural world and narrative sweep. This book stands out from other tales of the land: it is about the romance and primitive majesty of the wilderness, how it shelters and awes us, terrifies us, and ultimately provides us with a sense of place. Here is exquisitely detailed narration balanced with sharp insights into modern life in the wilderness. "Bibi Wein offers a lovely and penetrating look into the thickets of the Adirondack woods and of the human heart." -Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature"The Way Home is a beautifully written, deeply spiritual and disarmingly honest meditation on nature-that found in the glorious out-of-doors as well as that of the infinitely less elegant (and far more exasperating) human being. Think of it as modern-day Walden-a way to sit in an armchair and experience the soul-stirring revelations that are offered when one learns to keep quiet and let the land speak." -Elizabeth Berg, author of The Art of Mending