The Whole Forest for a Backyard: A Gunflint Trail Wilderness Memoir

by Timothy McDonnell

Overview

Crafted with an honest sensitivity, this charming book reflects the perspective of a small, free-range boy with a large imagination reared in one of our nations most cherished wilderness areas. It is mostly about the author's growing up years in the 1950s and 1960s at the resort his parents owned thirty-two miles into the boreal forest from the town of Grand Marais, Minnesota. Far more than a sentimental journey into the past, here is a story of triumphs, tragedies, and transitions, which reveal in full the cathartic powers of nature. The lessons presented are all the more relevant today. Our need to reconnect with the wild has never been greater.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780878398379
Publisher:	North Star Press of Saint Cloud
Publication date:	06/01/2013
Sold by:	INDEPENDENT PUB GROUP - EPUB - EBKS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	112
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Timothy McDonnell grew up on the periphery of Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area. He recently retired after twenty-nine years of teaching English and reading skills to deaf and hard-of-hearing students in suburban Minneapolis. He now spends his time writing and doing volunteer work for a Twin Cities non-profit organization that helps individuals transition out of homeless shelters and into independent living. Timothy loves fly fishing, kayaking, and helping his wife fulfill their mutual commitment to happiness. When he is not in the woods, he is either writing about the woods or dreaming about his next journey. 

Table of Contents

Detours on the Road North 1

Rootstock 7

Geez, Look at the Trees 11

Of Root Beer Bellies and One-Button Shirts 16

Homage to George the Bear 24

Becoming Locals 31

Schooling, Fooling, and Retooling 38

Cautiion: Boy at Work 45

Hired Help 52

Buoyancy 61

Learning to Read the Water 70

In Sickness and in Health 77

Released 81

Reclaimed 86

Fires Within and Without 92

Requiem 97

Regeneration 100

Acknowledgments 104