Naked Mountain: A Memoir

by Marcia Mabee

This compelling memoir of one woman’s journey of enchantment, tragedy and romance unfolds against the backdrop of a stunning mountaintop in rural Virginia. Purchased on a lark for weekend camping by a clueless suburban couple, the mountain brings Marcia Mabee and her husband Tim surprising wildlife encounters, dramatic botanical discoveries, and a passion for conservation that leads to its dedication by the state as the Naked Mountain Natural Area Preserve. Naked Mountain veers in an unexpected direction when Marcia faces a life-threatening cancer diagnosis. Struggling with energy-sapping treatments, she continues to battle environmental threats to the beloved mountain where her ashes are to be spread. Just as her prognosis brightens, the story takes a darker turn, extinguishing the couple’s hopes for the future and throwing Marcia into the depths of despair. But in a surprising twist, she confronts the divergent forces of deep grief and new love to remake a life. Naked Mountain is an amazing personal journey that explores the joys of discovery, the uncertainties of life and the enduring bonds of marriage.

306 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 6, 2016

Reviews

[Kp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Naked Mountain is an inspiring and compelling memoir with a strong female central character. The author tells an engaging story that takes the reader on adventures in nature discovery and through emotional highs and lows, following life's unexpected turns. A "power couple" from the Washington D.C. suburbs decides to buy 200 acres of mountain land and build their life together. What follows is a story of discovery, heartbreak, grief, healing, and recovery. The restorative power of time spent in the natural world is a central theme of this inspiring story of love, loss, and second chances. Recommended reading for nature lovers, as well as for cancer survivors or those struggling with grief recovery.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There's a mountain for sale." Marcia didn't know how that statement by a realtor in rural Virginia would change her life forever. Facing many setbacks and heartache in her life, escape from cancer, despair, and grief comes in the form of unexpected natural beauty. The wildlife and flora indigenous to her retreat help her regain strength and renew a commitment to preserve it for future generations. Read my review at http://pennyformythoughts-nona.blogsp...

[Joanna Kafarowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a movingly-told and poignant tale of one woman’s journey to find her place in the world. Newly engaged Marcia Mabee and Timothy Bell are thrilled to purchase Naked Mountain- an extensive and wondrous property in rural Virginia. Over time, her connection to Naked Mountain deepens as she learns more about its rare plants and wildlife and its relationship with the Blue Ridge ecosystem. Mabee is a high powered Washington lobbyist content with her life until tragedy strikes. She faces heartbreak and loss with courage and, over time, is determined to seek joy once again.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mabee writes about Naked Mountain with the eye for detail of Annie Dillard. The personal story of love and loss is a beautiful juxtaposition: the wide lense of the mountaintop versus the small world of the human heart. Satisfying.

[Rebecca Austill-Clausen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful, thoughtful, meaningful descriptions. Terrific nature references and resource. Love the books by publisher She Writes Press.

[Charlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book containing a love for wilderness, a book about government agencies, a book about family and bringing families with differences together, a book about health and grief sounds like a book about too much. However in the capable, gentle hands of Marcia Mabee all those themes are touched upon, clarified and written with honesty in her memoir Naked Mountain.
I interviewed Marcia for website and you may find this articulate woman discussing her book and much more at http://www.soulsciences.net

[Tisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started at a pace that kept me going. But I truly was not interested in the stories about conservation and her mountain. But topics change often and that was good. It was sad listening to her cancer fight but it does give insight to what goes on when there are medical concerns and the decisions that are made. But still I would recommend this book to friends.

[Joan Rough · Rating 5 out of 5]

A captivating testament to the natural world and how being immersed in it can help bring peace to life’s burdens, Naked Mountain, by Marcia Mabee, is one woman’s story of love, loss, and resilience. In this compelling memoir, we travel with Maybee, as she and her husband, Tim, buy a mountain on a whim, and create the Naked Mountain Natural Area Preserve, in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. When she is diagnosed with ovarian cancer and her husband with pancreatic cancer, life falls terribly apart. In the ensuing days as she struggles then climbs out of grief, life gifts her with renewed health and love. Full of insights and a deep passion for life, I highly recommend this memoir with its inspiring passage from despair to living a full, happy, and authentic life. Even through grief this is a feel-good story, filled with vivid descriptions of Naked Mountain’s flora and fauna, and how a city girl learns to take country life into her own hands to save acres of magnificent land from development.

[Debi Stout · Rating 4 out of 5]

 I received a complimentary paperback copy of this book from BookSpark and the publisher as part of the #MagicofMemoir Tour!

Naked Mountain: A Memoir by Marcia Mabee tells the story of Marcia and her husband, Tim, who want to escape their city life as a "power couple" in the Washington D.C. suburbs. Tim and Marcia decide to buy 200 acres of mountain land on a whim and build their life together. As they explore their new way of living life, Marcia unexpectedly learns she has ovarian cancer. She fights (and wins) her battle with cancer, only to learn that Tim has mere months to live due to his own cancer battle.

Naked Mountain is Marcia's story of discovery, romance, heartbreak, healing and especially recovery. I loved how the author showed nature's healing power in her life so vividly throughout the book. A gentle reminder of the power of nature. I also enjoyed seeing the city girl become a country girl thanks to a couple hundred acres of mountain!

I received a complimentary paperback copy of this book from BookSpark and the publisher as part of the #MagicofMemoir Tour!

[Gary Macdonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the heart of Marcia Mabee’s Naked Mountain is a love story that soars to romantic heights, endures difficult challenges, and absorbs stunning reversals. Naked Mountain, itself, is the central metaphor of the memoir. Although Mabee’s narrative invokes all of the allusions of spiritual redemption associated with summiting mountains, for her, Naked Mountain is an opportunity to learn about the mountain’s ecology, roll up her sleeves, and rehabilitate the natural environment. The grueling work that she does on the mountaintop leads her to moments of beauty and transcendence. That same attitude is reflected in her commitment to her career, her marriage, and her struggles with cancer. The narrative itself is tautly written and emotionally honest: the riveting, poignant story of two decades in a woman’s life. All in all, the memoir reminds us that true love and real healing require absolute commitment, genuine struggle, and difficult choices.

[Wendy Ginsburg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wendy

I first met Marcia in 2008 when we were both in chemo treatment together for ovarian cancer. She was bright, alert and determined to get better. I knew right away that she was special. She had just started to writing a memoir about her medical experiences and what it was like to own and live on top of a mountain in rural Virginia. Fast forward to 2016; I have just finished her book. Her words convey such courage to survive in the midst of personal and family tragedy. Not only does she recover from cancer and the untimely death of her husband, but she explains how she also integrates into her new existence the magic and permanence of Naked Mountain with the many challenges of moving, retiring and entering into a new and long term relationship. She is honest and frank about her many ups and downs along the way. She is an inspiring role model, and I am glad others will learn from her saga and wisdom.
Wendy Ginsburg

[Jill Coupe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of what I read is fiction, but I was drawn to Marcia Mabee’s Naked Mountain because I, too, once lived in Reston, VA, and on weekends escaped the DC area to a place in the mountains—in my case a log cabin near Madison, VA, about an hour north of Naked Mountain. But one doesn’t need to be familiar with the region to appreciate Ms. Mabee’s eloquently written tale of love and loss. For her Naked Mountain, with its stunning views of the Blue Ridge and its and precious wildflowers, represents the child she never had and the husband she adored, and she’s determined to protect it. She sets about destroying the ailanthus trees and other invasives threatening the wildflowers just as both she and her husband are fighting cancer. This is an unusual story, told by an intelligent, courageous woman. I’m so glad I read it.

[Bob Ginsburg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Naked Mountain is a real place where a couple built their dream home, only to have their dreams shattered by cancer. The wife survived. Her husband did not. This book, written by Marcia Mabee, an ovarian cancer survivor, is really two stories. The first is about her life and how she overcame a “killer” disease, the loss of her beloved husband, and unexpectedly, how she found new meaning with a new mate. The second story is about Naked Mountain, a several hundred-acre property that was donated to a Virginia conservation trust because of its important collection of flora and fauna. A first time author, Marcia is a gifted writer whose passion for living is an inspiration for a wide audience of readers.
Bob Ginsburg

[Betty Hafner · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely lovely book, written straight from the heart. I had promised myself I'd read it after the holiday madness, but once I started, I could not stop. Mabee is such an appealing person--both a successful professional and a kind participant in the natural world--that when illness and loss come barreling into her life, readers will feel it as a personal blow. She shares openly and honestly about the depth of all of her feelings. Yet readers will discover what elevates this book is the portrayal of love. Love of life. Love of nature and its fickleness. And the love of two people who are able to weather its storms hand in hand. Highly recommended.

[Sam Pizzigati · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Bereavement" books don't usually rate as page-turners. But this memoir from Marcia Mabee has a narrative drive -- and the unexpected twists and turns -- you normally find in thrillers.

And, yes, Mabee's Naked Mountain works a source of strength and renewal for the bereaved, too.

Environmentalists will relish Naked Mountain as well. Mabee tells a tale that links the struggle to save the natural world with the struggle for individual human survival in the heart of urban/suburban America.

I found her memoir, in short, engrossing -- and comforting -- on multiple levels.

[Martha Brindley · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful love story written by a very gifted writer. Told with honesty, love and wisdom.. It is also a good read for nature lovers, especially those interested in flora and fauna. Marcia's fight with cancer will be an inspiration to many women. A very humbling read. Thank you Net Galley for my copy.

[Carol Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written book, involving two inspiring, overlapping stories of surviving and then thriving -- one about helping the ecology of Naked Mountain thrive, and the other about surviving and then thriving after cancer. These overlapping stories reveal the powerful inner spirit and creativity of Marcia Mabee. Carol K. Walsh