Hello from the depths of winter, Calhoun here, finally checking back in. Earlier this week I felt warmth to the sun for the first time since October. There is hope at last! I know I can’t get too excited, as this is Montana after all, and despite the 50 degree heat wave, I need to pace myself for the long haul till June. So if you’re like me and plan to spend a little more time reading by the fire awaiting spring, read on.
There is a phenomenal book I would like to recommend to anyone who is in need of an honest read. A book that will remind you of home, adventure, family and roots, and of hard, very hard work. It is called River House and is written by a gal by the name of Sarahlee Lawrence.
I first connected with Sarahlee when she emailed me saying she stood too close to the exhaust on a piece of heavy equipment and burned a hole through her Red Ants Pants. She needed a swatch of fabric for a patch. Fair enough.
I ended up on her email list and stumbled upon an announcement of her new book release. A few months later I got my hands on a copy and couldn’t put it down. Lawrence has an amazingly raw and real flavor to her writing that speaks right to your core. Or it did to mine anyway. This memoir takes you from some of the wildest white water in South America to the family ranch in the high desert of Oregon. It touches on the age old question of how can we put down roots but still grow wings? Lawrence inspires with accounts of the arduous process of building her own log home, by hand.
In Phil Condon’s words, “Log by log, and word by word, Lawrence locates her love and affirms her commitment to her parents, herplace, and the natural world. If you love wild water and land, if you value hard work and family, this is the book not to miss.”
I had the opportunity of attending one of Sarahlee’s book readings, where it became immediately apparent that not only is she a very talented writer and a hard worker, but she’s unbelievably hilarious. She now owns and operates an organic veggie farm in Oregon. River House is published by Tin House Books. www.tinhousebooks.com.
