Synopses & Reviews
The environment may surround us, but when that environment is a natural wonder like Yosemite National Park, it also reaches whats inside us. For Mark Liebenow, Yosemite did just that, and did so when he needed it most. In
Mountains of Light, winner of the River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Prize, Liebenow takes us deep into the heart of this wilderness, introducing us to its grand and subtle marvels—and to the observations, reflections, and insights its scenery evokes. Acting as our guide, Liebenow calls on the spirit and legacy of naturalist John Muir to rediscover nature and recover his own exuberance for life. Whether celebrating the giant sequoias, massive granite mountains, and wild, untamed rivers, or losing himself on an unmarked trail, Liebenow is always accompanied by thoughts of his wife of eighteen years, whose recent and sudden death tempers and informs his journey.
Interwoven with his experiences are the stories of the Native Americans who lived in the valley for thousands of years and of the early settlers who followed. Melding documentary with introspection, environmental reportage with a search for meaning, Liebenows work draws on the lore of geology, botany, biology, and history to show how each aspect of the environment is connected to the rest.
Watch the
Review
"Schrand proves himself a top-notch yarn spinner with this richly described, poignant memoir."—Jenny Shank, NewWest.net Kirkus Reviews
Review
“Schrands deeply textured memoir of life in a small Idaho town boasts a rich palette of glittering iridescent hues, somber earth tones, and delicate, evocative washes. . . . Schrands memoir sings, stirring the senses as much as the soul.”—Whitney Scott, Booklist (starred review) Whitney Scott
Review
"A satisfying read."—C. K. Crigger, Roundup Magazine Jennifer Waters - School Library Journal
Review
“For a young child, the hotel exerted a certain kind of magic, which Schrand effectively captures in his reminiscences. . . . An evocative account of a man coming to terms with his youth.”—Kirkus Reviews Booklist
Review
"Schrand proves himself a top-notch yarn spinner with this richly described, poignant memoir."Jenny Shank, NewWest.net
Review
“Gorgeously written and generous in its telling, Schrands memoir takes us deep into the heart of a boomtown gone bust and a family surviving on little more than stubbornness and a desire to do the next right thing. The Enders Hotel is a heartbroken love song to a time gone by, a place lost, and a people whose longings ring true long after the last page ends.”Kim Barnes, author of In the Wilderness: Coming of Age in Unknown Country
Review
"Schrand's stories of life at the family-owned Enders Hotel in Soda Springs, ID, resonate with the wide-eyed enthusiasm of youth and yet are balanced with the sober vision of hindsight. . . . Schrand's specificity and eye for detail transport readers to the desolate environs of the Enders Hotel. This book will appeal to anyone who has ever felt out of place or out of step with the world, especially teen males."—Jennifer Waters, School Library Journal Jenny Shank - NewWest.net
Review
"A satisfying read."—C. K. Crigger, Roundup Magazine --Jennifer Waters - School Library Journal
Review
"Whether comic books developed his acute insights, or familiarity with people on the move to somewhere else, Schrand has a compassionate understanding of the way we try to renew ourselves through the place we call home."—Renée E. D'Aoust, Notre Dame Review C. K. Crigger - Roundup Magazine
Review
"An elegant portrayal of retreat, renewal and return to life with an increased respect for one of the nation's most revered natural sites."—Kirkus Reviews
Review
"This is a book that cries out for wide availability. It is a book to be read and re-read. I want to study it for what I expect are many deep connections Mark Liebenow has made as he wrote and re-wrote and edited it. This is a book of uncommon humility, honesty, great insight, and finally, ending again in winter, a book of eternal hope."—Blog Critics Books
Review
"Readers don't have to turn too many pages before they find themselves itching to go to Yosemite."—Amy Lou Jenkins, examiner.com
Review
"With Mountains of Light, Mark Liebenow offers a compelling reminder that the Yosemite remains both actual and symbolic evidence of nature's power to create in humanity a sense of awe and humility, even as civilization appears to many to be intent on hurtling itself into environmental degregation."—James Ballowe, North Dakota Quarterly
Review
“With his poets eye and sensibilities, Mark Liebenow leads us through one of the great American wild lands, Yosemite National Park. He also marks out a trail through an even wilder landscape—that of grief in the human heart. . . . The terrain he explores is rough and dramatic, exuberant and awe-inspiring.”—Kelsea Habecker, author of Hollow Out
Review
“This is a book of a heros journey—of a journey deep into the wilderness of our hearts among the wild flowing rivers we try to navigate in the face of pain, the glacial movement of recovering from tragic loss. Its about how when we listen to the gifts of nature we can find deep spiritual power; we can find grace. This is a beautiful book.”—Jeff Knorr, author of Keeper and The Third Body
Synopsis
In the center of the rural boomtown of Soda Springs, Idaho, stands the historic Enders Hotel, Café, and Bar, a three-story brick building that has been many things to many people. But to one family who bought it as an attempt to renew themselves it was home, a place they desperately tried to hold on to and yet, after seventeen years of living there, the very place from which they wanted to escape. Growing up under its leaking roof, Brandon R. Schrand watched a cast of broken characters pass through the hotel doors—an alcoholic artist, a forgotten boxing champ, an ex-con, a homeless family—and tried to find his own identity among those revolving faces. Haunted by a father he had never seen, he tested the faces of those drifters for familiarity. Winner of the River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Prize, The Enders Hotel reveals the promises and warnings of western boomtown life—stories of alcoholism, murder, betrayal, hope, and finally, redemption.
About the Author
Brandon R. Schrand is the coordinator of the MFA program in creative writing at the University of Idaho. His work has appeared in such periodicals as The Utne Reader, Tin House, Green Mountains Review, Colorado Review, River Teeth, Ecotone, and other journals.