BOOKS I’VE WRITTEN
Seasons of Letting Go
In 2016 I self-published a book of 12 essays written during and just after the death of my mother. This memoir chronicles the readjustment of my life, which involved the move to a new town—Asheville—and the subsequent rebuilding of my social network. The short book starts with loss but is mostly about the resilience we humans learn is possible when we undertake the hard work of grieving, and then risk reinventing ourselves after letting go.
A Search for Safe Passage
During five weekends in 2020, when COVID lockdown prevented social interaction, a colleague challenged me to write a book to support the Safe Passage movement. I sat by my creek and wrote what the late author George Ellison deemed “a fable.” It follows the adventures of 19 species of wildlife banding together to cross a highway, bringing into focus the greater need for wildlife crossings. Now also an audiobook, it won Publication of the Year in 2022 from the Public Lands Alliance. Illustrated by Emma Oxford.
Mabel Meets a Black Bear
Released in 2023, this book is designed for 5- to 10-year-olds to read with parental oversight. It introduces twin ten-year-old girls, Mabel and Louise, who are loosely modeled on the old Highlights Magazine prototypes of Goofus and Gallant. The two learn the hard way how to be BearWise and grow up to teach others the importance of keeping food away from black bears. It was spawned by a colleague in the BearWise task force requesting that I write a book on the topic. Illustrated by Jesse White.
Camilla and the Caterpillars
Inspired by the Homegrown National Park movement catalyzed by Doug Tallamy to support species diversity, this 2024 title tells the story of Camilla, who becomes enamored of a Hickory Horned Devil while on an Appalachian Trail hike in the Smokies hike with her parents. When the family moves from a city apartment to a suburban plot of land, they must rid the parcel of invasives and foster native plant growth before they can attract the caterpillars who are the basis of the food web. Illustrated by Matt Brass.
BOOKS I’VE EDITED
George Masa: A Life Reimagined
George Masa, who never became a US citizen, would be lauded some 90 years after his death by President Obama for reminding us “what citizenship is all about.” Friendly, ambitious—yet private—Masa was dedicated to shaping the Smokies in the late 1920s and early 1930s. From Cornell University librarian Janet McCue and documentary filmmaker Paul Bonesteel comes the first comprehensive biography of this enigmatic Japanese photographer.
Back of Beyond: A Horace Kephart Biography
An icon of the Southern Appalachian region known for books such as Camping and Woodcraft and Our Southern Highlanders, Horace Kephart was instrumental in efforts to create a national park in the Smokies and to establish the Appalachian Trail through North Carolina and Tennessee. Written by eminent Kephart scholars George Ellison and Janet McCue, this is the story of a librarian turned woodsman who had a far-reaching effect on wilderness literature and outdoor pursuits throughout North America.
Letters from the Smokies
This book, inspired by the park’s vast collection of time-worn documents, makes some of the most salient of its letters readily accessible. Within a three-century span, GSMNP Archivist Mike Aday captures stories of people whose voices we don’t often hear.
Butterflies and Moths of the Smokies
This beautiful field guide by two naturalists is designed to help budding butterfly and moth enthusiasts cultivate a greater interest in and understanding of the field. With more than 200 color images, it showcases 73 species of butterflies and 27 species of moths for a total of 100 species commonly found in the park.