Out of the Woods: A Memoir of Wayfinding - Paperback

by Lynn Darling (Author)

Combining the soul-baring insight of Wild, the profound wisdom of Shop Class as Soulcraft, and the adventurous spirit of Eat, Pray, Love: Lynn Darling's powerful, lyrical memoir of self-discovery, full of warmth and wry humor, Out of the Woods.

When her college-bound daughter leaves home, Lynn Darling, widowed over a decade earlier, finds herself alone--and utterly lost, with no idea of what she wants or even who she is. Searching for answers, she leaves New York for the solitary woods of Vermont. Removed from the familiar, cocooned in the natural world, her only companions a new dog and a compass, she hopes to develop a sense of direction--both in the woods and in her life.

Hiking unmapped trails, Darling meditates on the milestones of her past; as she adapts to her new surroundings, she uses the knowledge she's gained to chart her future. And when an unexpected setback nearly derails her newfound balance, she is able to draw upon her newfound skills to find her bearings and stay the course.

In revealing how one woman learned to navigate--literally and metaphorically--the uneven course of life, Out of the Woods is, in the words of Pulitzer-prize winning author Geraldine Brooks, "a marvelous book . . . both a compass and a manifesto for navigating the often-treacherous switchbacks of the second half of life."

Front Jacket

When her college-bound daughter leaves home, Lynn Darling, widowed more than a decade earlier, finds herself alone and utterly lost, with no idea what she wants or even who she is. Searching for answers, she moves to a cranky little house in the Vermont woods, her only companions, a new dog and a compass. There she hopes to develop a sense of direction--both in the woods and in her life.

Told with rare insight, wry humor, and remarkable honesty, Out of the Woods reveals how honing the skills of navigation--literal and metaphorical--smoothed one woman's path. It is a story at once universal and deeply personal--in the words of writer Geraldine Brooks, both a compass and a manifesto for navigating the often-treacherous switchbacks of the second half of life.

Back Jacket

When her college-bound daughter leaves home, Lynn Darling, widowed more than a decade earlier, finds herself alone and utterly lost, with no idea what she wants or even who she is. Searching for answers, she moves to a cranky little house in the Vermont woods, her only companions, a new dog and a compass. There she hopes to develop a sense of direction--both in the woods and in her life.

Told with rare insight, wry humor, and remarkable honesty, Out of the Woods reveals how honing the skills of navigation--literal and metaphorical--smoothed one woman's path. It is a story at once universal and deeply personal--in the words of writer Geraldine Brooks, "both a compass and a manifesto for navigating the often-treacherous switchbacks of the second half of life."