Reading Water: Lessons from the River » (Paperback)

Rebecca Lawton was the first commercially licensed oarswoman on the technically difficult Selway River in Idaho and spent ten of her seasons as one of a handful of original boatwomen rowing the Grand Canyon. In her off-seasons, she studied geology with an emphasis on river processes and then worked in environmental consulting. She holds a B.S. in earth sciences from the University of California at Santa Cruz and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Mills College. Her work and her river experiences have appeared in numerous publications, including Womensports, Phoenix Sun Times, and Boise Statesman, as well as the book Women and Wilderness and Breaking into the Current. Ms. Lawton has received a number of literary awards for her prose and poetry and been nominated for the prestigious Pushcart Prize. Check her out at www.becca.lawton.net.

A lyrical journey down some of America’s greatest rivers by one of the first women river guides in the West.

Library Journal

Rivers provided the main routes for discovery of the American West. Today, rafting or boating those same rivers can still provide a vehicle for a different kind of discovery-of one's self. Lawton is a seasoned, licensed boatwoman who has navigated many of the most beautiful and technically difficult rivers of the West. Her experiences as a woman succeeding in a very physically demanding profession (she was one of the first female river guides) and the people with whom she works are interesting by themselves, as are her passing observations about the geology and natural history of the rivers. The overarching theme of these short essays, though, is how she connects with nature, and ultimately with herself, on the water. Her reflections are not especially profound, and her prose tends to be a bit airy, but the thoughts and feelings that she expresses are affirmative, introspective, and unpretentious. For its honesty and relative simplicity, if this book were a river it would be broad, not deep. For larger general collections of nature essays. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.