BOOK CLUB by AwA
BOOK REVIEW SEPTEMBER 2022, Off the Beaten Path Bookstore convened three authors whose works embody women’s explorations of their need for solitude and independence balanced with a need for community. These “Badass Women of the West” have laid their lives bare. In reading these books, women will see themselves, the fears they were brought up with, the exploration of their place in
the world, and,—in the end,—the connection to nature that has traditionally been reserved for men. The natural world is being claimed by women more and more as part of who they are and who they have every right to be. Men should not be discouraged from reading these books as, although the stories center around women, the need to find oneself will resonate all the same.
ALONE IN WONDERLAND by Christine Reed
Christine lays her life and her soul bare as she begins a hike of the Wonderland Trail in Mt. Rainier National Park. As she moves along the trail, the reader is taken through the experiences that have brought her to this point. Reed’s honesty about her life’s experiences are uncomfortable at times but that honesty and willingness to be vulnerable is what keeps the reader hanging on her words, hoping she will find the peace she is looking for.
ELEVATE THE ARTS: Visit Off the Beaten Path Bookstore to buy these books and books by local Steamboat Springs authors.
16
Winter 2022
Art with Altitude
DESERT CHROME by Kathryn Wilder
“All that’s here is here in passing: rainbows, a human life, the wind,” writes Wilder. Desert Chrome explores connections that have been forgotten by many—how connection to land and wild animals can heal people. Wilder’s journey is one of seeking to understand, to forgive and to find peace within herself as she seeks to understand, to forgive and to find peace with the decisions of mankind. These decisions have torn apart the land and torn wild horses from their families. With love comes healing.
ROUGH BEAUTY by Karen Auvinen
After a fire burns down her house and all her belongings, Karen reassesses what’s important. For one of the first times in her life, she has to ask for and accept help from people she doesn’t even like. While her childhood drove her to find peace in nature and in spaces away from people, where “I had only myself to annoy or answer to,” the basic human need for connection brings her back into a community that accepts her for who she is. Reader’s insight: If you have ever had a dog you loved more than life, make sure you have a box of tissues next to you.
Art with Altitude
Winter 2022
17
Jason Santucci Photography Steamboat Springs, Colorado www.jasonsantucciphotography.com
*
970-871-1853
We envision a community where outstanding orchestral experiences inspire, educate, and connect to a more vibrant, creative, and healthy Yampa Valley.
Finding Christmas
Spring Concert
December 3rd - 4th, 2022
March 31st - April 1st, 2023
steamboatsymphony.org
Steam boat Spr ing s
EDUCATION FUND