The Way Home

by Bibi Wein

Winner of the 2002 Tupelo Press Prose Award ""A wonderful achievement. I read it one sitting. It's beautifully written, very compelling""--Deborah Tall ""Somewhere around the age of 40, when I should have been deciding if I wanted to take my last chance at having a second child, should have been looking for a good job to replace the one that had recently ended . . . I began instead to learn everything I could about staying out all night in the woods. Since I live in Manhattan, this pursuit could hardly be construed as even marginally relevant to my real life."" Provocative from the beginning, this true tale wanders through the serious, the mundane and the humorous as the author seeks to find her way home physically and emotionally. A seasoned hiker and weekend outdoor enthusiast, Wein moves from New York to a rural Adirondack town. One day like any other, she and her partner take a walk in the woods and don't come back for a long time. From this event-getting lost in the primeval splendor (and terror) of the 6-million-acre Adirondack Park--the narrative winds backward and forward, examining how they came to be at this perplexing place in their lives, and where, day after sweaty day, they are going. The couple's predicament sparks a life-long romance with the wilderness that parallels the perils and pleasures of their own midlife romance. Reminiscent of Gretal Ehrlich, Annie Dillard, and Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer , Bibi Wein proves herself just as thoughtful a chronicler of human and natural mores.

205 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2004