![]() ![]() ![]() Like a hug from Mother Earth, an hour or two by the creek made the world fall back into place.Īs a biographer, I know that many of history’s most important thinkers and dreamers were healed and influenced by time outdoors-Theodore Roosevelt on horseback in the Dakotas, John Muir hiking over glaciers, Ben Franklin swimming the Charles River, Thomas Jefferson surveying Virginia’s hills, Vincent van Gogh tromping through meadows. Observing tadpoles, leeches and catfish, I learned that all living things have their purpose and their struggles, not just first graders. Seated on a mossy log, watching water rush past a dam of broken branches, I daydreamed and worked out my childhood problems. After pushing through a wild raspberry thicket, I’d hear the sound of “my” waterfall. ![]() But the connection with nature expressed in my first book runs far back to about first grade.Īt that time, whenever there were struggles to solve or thoughts to think, I tramped across a few acres of farmland to a hidden creek. My suburban-self struggles to reduce my carbon footprint or some days, just stop using disposable cups. Soft beds, indoor plumbing and restaurants seem like essentials to me. Despite the book’s subject matter, I am no outdoorswoman. Eight years ago now, I found my way toward writing for children while researching the book, The Camping Trip that Changed America. ![]()
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