This is a book of lessons learned from whitewater wilderness canoeing, especially canoe camping, mostly on Maine rivers. I believe it will be useful to canoeists and non-canoeists alike, as the lessons I’ve learned are life lessons we all learn. It’s a book about my river experience and how I apply that to my daily life. It will include canoe technique, suggestions to make your canoe trip enjoyable, survival skills, how to listen to the river, how to respond to your emotions and thoughts on the river, and what the river can teach you.


This book will have a mixture of practice advice, personal stories, poetry, history, autobiography, a journal, an advocacy for canoeing, with lots of tips and lessons on how to live a more enjoyable life. It will include lots of photographs I’ve taken over the last 25 years. Some were taken with throw away cameras and some with a digital camera or smart phone, and the quality varies. I want to give you a feel for my experiences more than perfect pictures. Most of the unlabeled pictures are of me or friends on a trip.
Some ideas are repeated in different ways to emphasize. It’s like canoeing a river. It has its own journey and changes a lot, but keeps coming back to similar patterns and lessons to learn. Maybe your sport or hobby is skiing or baseball or tennis and you’ll see similarities in the learning process. Have fun with the book and I hope to see you on the river!