Turn Around Time - (Hardcover)

About the Book

Most outdoor enthusiasts understand the phrase "turn around time" as that point in an adventure when one must cease heading out in order to have enough time to safely return to camp or home. In that vein, an award-winning novelist explores midlife through a lyrical journey along a trail.

Book Synopsis

2020 Independent Publisher Book Awards Most Outstanding Design Winner Most outdoor enthusiasts understand the phrase "turn around time" as that point in an adventure when you must cease heading out in order to have enough time to safely return to camp or home--regardless of whether you have reached your destination. For award-winning novelist David Guterson, it is also a metaphor for where we find ourselves in the middle of our lives, and his new narrative poem explores this idea through a lyrical journey along a trail, much like those in Washington's mountain ranges he hiked while growing up.

Even outdoor-lovers who are not normally readers of poetry will relate to the physicality of hiking represented here, from endless trail switchbacks to foot and ankle pains. There is a fast-moving, propulsive quality to David's writing, with lush language, vivid imagery, and pacing that resonates as a journey on foot. His words are brought further to life by the delicate yet mythical illustrations by award-winning artist Justin Gibbens.

Review Quotes

There is a joy to the memories in these pages and a familiarity to me as someone who has hiked in the Northwest. I recommend a read.--Claire Tenscher "The Mazama Bulletin"

In his new book, renowned...author David Guterson pens a lyrical plea to appreciate and preserve our wilderness-- "The Seattle Times Pacific Northwest Magazine"

Turn Around Time is a non-fiction testament to the beauty of being in Northwest wilderness, and it's written in verse. If you've ever been stunned by the varieties of green available in one square foot of the rain forest out on the Olympic Peninsula, this is the book for you.-- "Seattle Review of Books"

[Turn Around Time offers] down-to-earth observations that celebrate aches and pains, solitude and companionship, and the privilege of participating in the journey.--Barbara Lloyd McMichael "The Seattle Times"

[Turn Around Time] reads like a cerebral exercise in the outdoors, a poem not simply about hiking, but about the journey of life itself.... T.S. Eliot mixed with a tad of Walt Whitman and The Beats (the "poets of the peaks," like Jack Kerouac and Gary Snyder), poetry unafraid of big words and big thoughts, a rain forest or mountain range of ideas.--Knute Berger "Crosscut"

Ultimately, this is a book to be read several times--not just at home, but on the trail as well (it's small enough to take on your next backcountry adventure). The poems will lead you to look more carefully at the nature around you, heightening your sense of the magic inherent in the wild.--Sara Boon "Alpinist"

Vivid, lyrical details enrich this narrative poem that celebrates time in the outdoors.--Sara Kennedy "The Seattle Times"

With beautiful, lyrical language, Guterson leads his readers through the woods and hills, pointing out the wondrous sights, warning readers of difficulties and hazards, reminding them of ways to find their way back, and sharing the joy along the way.... One needn't be a hiker nor a reader of poetry to enjoy this metaphorical journey; one merely needs to love fine writing.--Rosi Hollinbeck "Tulsa Book Review"