Product Details
- Publisher : St. Martin's Press (June 27, 2023)
- Genre: Memoir /Conservation/Animal Protection
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 256 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1250284694
****I received a complimentary book from publishers, publicists, book tours, and or authors. A review was not required and all opinions and ideas expressed are my own.**** Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's press for the review e-copy.
When Brad Orsted’s fifteen-month-old daughter, Marley, died mysteriously at the home of Brad’s mother, he descended into madness. Blaming himself, he plunged into an abyss of grief, guilt, and self-recrimination, fueled by prescription drugs and alcohol. He planned his suicide as his wife, Stacey, searched for a new beginning. She finally found a job in Yellowstone National Park and, with their daughters, Mazzy and Chloe, the pair fled Michigan, looking for refuge and redemption in the 2.2 million acres of glorious American wilderness.
Through the Wilderness begins in Yellowstone, five months after the family’s arrival in 2012, when, in an alcoholic haze, Brad stumbled into a field of sage and survived a face-to-face encounter with an adult male grizzly bear. For the first time in almost two years, he realized he wanted to live—he just didn’t know how.
Desperate for help, Brad invited himself to a Crow sweat lodge ceremony, where an elder told him it was time to stop grieving. The elder’s words started Brad on a journey towards sobriety and inner peace, only possible because of lessons he learned in the wild, his new job as a wildlife photographer and filmmaker, and two orphan grizzly cubs who carried him back home and taught him how to live again.
Brad's ten-year odyssey is about finding the wild inside the human heart. It is a journey of the spirit— a journey to forgiveness and sobriety, to love and life, to memory, and ultimately, to Marley.
Brad Orsted is an award-winning conservation and wildlife filmmaker, photographer, and writer. His work can be seen on: Nat Geo, BBC, PBS, Nature, Travel Channel, The Smithsonian Channel, and the Washington Post.
Brad’s latest film, which he co-directs, co-produces, and appears in, titled, “The Beast of Our Time: Grizzly Bears and Climate Change,” features Terry Tempest Williams and Doug Peacock. The film is narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Jeff Bridges and won Best Environmental Documentary at the 2021 L.A. Film Festival.
Brad has authored his first book, a memoir, about the tragic loss of his daughter, Marley, and how he found redemption in the wild. His book, Finding Marley (working title) is due out in 2023 (St. Martin’s Press).
Brad’s focus is conservation and giving back to the sacred wild through his imagery, speaking engagements, and wilderness therapy programs. Sign up for Brad’s newsletter and follow him on Instagram to stay current on upcoming books, films, public speaking events, and ground-breaking wilderness therapy programs.
FEATURED FILM
The Beast of Our Time
The Beast of Our Time: Climate Change and Grizzly Bears explore the relationship between climate change and grizzly bears. The short documentary is narrated by Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges and scored by pianist Bill Payne of Little Feat.
Fifty years in the making, The Beast of Our Time interviews top scientists, advocates, authors, ranchers, and indigenous poets to investigate the catastrophic effects of climate change on grizzlies and their habitat. The film is both a dire warning and a compelling call to action to advocate for habitat, connectivity, tolerance, wildlife crossings, and room to roam.
Watch The Trailer
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