New book alert! Eaarth:Making a Life on a Tough New Planet is waiting for me. Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature, is a hero of mine, an environmental visionary who sees far beyond what occupies most scientists. McKibben and his wife, the author Sue Halpern, and family used to live about four miles from where I live. But before I came here in December 2005, he and Halpern moved to Vermont, where they both teach at Middlebury College. Lucky Middlebury! I wish they had taught there when I was there. I stayed only for my freshman year, in 1971-1972, and the school was nothing compared to what it is today. Can you believe my English professor slept with my roommate in our dorm??? But I didn't leave because of that. After a top-notch high school education that had me happily working my butt off, Middlebury was a disappointing walk in the park. When I learned that there was only one female professor, I left. Again, Middlebury has changed. A lot.
How did I come to live in the Adirondacks? One answer. One author. One book. I didn't know it, but I was already ready to leave my city life behind, but this book pushed me into "Get to the Adirondacks Right Now" mode, to do everything possible to preserve wilderness. Wandering Home has been one of the most influential, life-altering reads of my life and the impact of that reading experience continues to affect every day of my life.
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