Collection of personal wilderness tales from Montana released

‘Voices in the Wilderness’ features writers and stories from Montana’s Kootenai National Forest

By Reader Staff

Blue Creek Press of Heron, Mont., announced this week the publication of “Voices in the Wilderness: A Collection of Wild Essays,” a collaboration of Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness and Montana Wilderness Association. “Voices in the Wilderness” is a collection of essays written by everyday people from the communities of Libby, Troy, Heron, Noxon, Thompson Falls and the rural areas surrounding these towns in Lincoln and Sanders Counties, Mont. The commonality of these essays is that they are narratives of personal experiences in wild places, sometimes Wilderness with a capital W, sometimes other places both remote and not-so-remote.

'Voices in the Wilderness' is available for purchase on Amazon.com

‘Voices in the Wilderness’ is available for purchase on Amazon.com

The writers of “Voices in the Wilderness” range in age from 15 to 75, and subject matter rambles from hunting trips, solo hikes and family reunions at high mountain lakes to big elk, tiny fish and windblown terror. The stories are funny, touching, scary, inspiring and all rooted in a personal relationship with a place with no roads.

Most of the essays were published by arrangement with FSPW and MWA in The Western News of Libby or The Sanders County Ledger of Thompson Falls as part of an ongoing series of columns called “Voices in the Wilderness.” When it came time to publish the collection, Blue Creek Press undertook editing and design. The 160-page book’s first edition came off the press in October.

“This is a fine book,” said FSPW executive director Phil Hough. “People from all walks of life can have meaningful experiences in wild places, and the varied stories in ‘Voices in the Wilderness’ are proof of that.”

High school students, teachers, professionals, politicians, scientists and working class contributors tell their personal backcountry stories in this book, emphasizing that wild places are instructive, inspiring and essential to all sorts of people.

Profits from the sale of “Voices” will benefit FSPW and MWA. Voices in the Wilderness is available on Amazon. Use the link bitly.com/WildKootenaiVoices.

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