Synopses & Reviews
Then There Was No Mountain is the firsthand account of a mother trying to reclaim her daughter from the depths of drug abuse and addiction. Pushed to her limits, Waterston makes the difficult decision of sending her daughter Sophie to a "wilderness survival" program hoping to break her addiction. In the process, Waterston finds that she must also break free from her own addictions: shame, guilt, and denial. Set in the ruggedness and broad expanses that are the northwestern states, the land is a powerful metaphor not only for solitude, but also salvation.
Then There Was No Mountain was one of 10 new books selected from nearly 200 submitted at a 2003 Pacific Northwest Booksellers convention for a featured reading and signing.
Review
"...an engrossing story, all the more because many readers will feel a pang of recognition at the hard issues facing contemporary parents,...a beautiful and compelling book"
Craig Lesley, author of The Sky Fishermen and Storm Riders
Review
"I strongly urge you to get it and read it. It is strong medicine. It is written from the heart, with eyes wide open." Sam Waterston, star of NBC's Law & Order
Review
[T]he illuminating force of this book is Waterstons pacing, her subtle detail of, her metaphors and her choreography with the language."Steve Duin, The Oregonian
Review
"....An eloquent, smart and painful book about the problems every parent faces raising children in America."
Kent Nelson, author,
Land That Moves, Land That Stands Still
Review
"Waterston bravely revisits a painful period of her life...her book should help others who are blindly navigating their way back to health and normalcy."
Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
This book describes the external and internal processes the author, Sophie's mother, experiences in coming to terms with her daughter's addiction, then seeking and ultimately finding help.