Understory - by Kevin Van Tighem (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Drawing on a lifetime spent in the wilds of western Canada's national parks and years of conservation work, Van Tighem reflects on a career spent protecting the natural world and the emotional toll of witnessing its decline. Freed from bureaucratic constraints after retirement, he turned to writing, activism, and politics, driven by a sense of duty to the landscapes and species he loves. But alongside his commitment to action came profound grief and the pressing question: how do we find hope amid environmental loss?

Van Tighem's reflections are anchored in the "understory" of his life--the hidden, tangled layers beneath the surface of his experiences. Like the shadowed depths of a forest, these memories and insights are both beautiful and unsettling, revealing the challenges and rewards of engaging fully with the world around us. With unflinching honesty, he examines the joys of connection, the pain of loss, and the enduring value of caring deeply, even when the odds feel insurmountable.

Written with the lyricism of a naturalist and the candour of a seasoned storyteller, Understory invites readers to confront their own relationships with nature and consider how they, too, can find purpose and hope in uncertain times.

For anyone who cherishes the wild, grapples with environmental grief, or seeks inspiration to keep moving forward, this memoir is both a solace and a call to action.

Review Quotes

"Understory is a powerful look at one conservationist's life of discovery, anger, pain, and reconciliation. Van Tighem's soulful and entertaining remembrances chronicle the shifts in Alberta and explore the potential for positive change if we remember we are bonded to Earth, not aloof from it. Don't read this book--put it under your pillow and, through osmosis, let its contents energize you to think about what's important in your life." --Lorne Fitch, biologist and author of Streams of Consequence: Dispatches from the Conservation World and Travels Up the Creek: A Biologist's Search for a Paddle

"A very well written book based on real-life experiences. Van Tighem's inclusion of the Blackfoot Peoples gives the story a holistic perspective from the standpoint of Native Peoples." --Harley Bastien, Piikani Elder, Buffalo Rock Tipi Camp

"Couldn't put this book down. Van Tighem took me on a journey of self-discovery as viewed through the prisms of nature and family. He confronts the abuse of both nature and people while shining a light on the joy that only being in the wilds can bring. Well worth the read." --Cliff Wallis, Member of the Order of Canada and past president of the Alberta Wilderness Association

"Understory - the darkness and the light, a voyage of self-discovery through the prisms of nature, family, and some hard knocks along the way. Van Tighem confronts our abuse of both nature and people, contrasting the sensibility of nature against the imperfection of humankind, including the bureaucracies and economic systems trying to shackle us. But he offers a glimmer of hope and sage advice - the losses are offset by the gains - reuniting with old friends, embarking on new adventures, and revisiting familiar haunts in mountains, forests, prairies, and streams." --Cliff Wallis, Member of the Order of Canada and past president of the Alberta Wilderness Association

"Kevin Van Tighem's Understory: An Ecologist's Memoir of Loss and Hope is a powerful, deeply moving read. It is a coming of age for both the man he would become and the west he would treasure and protect. Beautifully written and at times brutally honest, it is the inner song of a man and his place." --Roy MacGregor, author of books including Paper Trails: From the Backwoods to the Front Page, a Life in Stories, Original Highways: Travelling the Great Rivers of Canada, and Canoe Country: The Making of Canada

"In this searingly honest and lyrical reckoning, Kevin Van Tighem unearths the tangled legacy of colonial institutions - religion, Western science, and even our beloved national parks - and how they've shaped our identity and relationship with land, wildlife, watersheds, and one another. Both an ecologist's lament and a love letter to the wounded wild landscapes that endure, Understory asks: How do you see the land, and how does the land see you? This is Van Tighem as you've never seen him before: tender, unflinching, and full of hard-won wisdom. Understory is an illuminating offering for these urgent times." --Trina Moyles, author of Lookout: Love, Solitude, and Searching for Wildfire in the Boreal Forest