For Immediate Release

Author claims a woman's place may be in the woods with her kids 



Every Natural Fact: Five Seasons of Open-Air Parenting

By Amy Lou Jenkins

Amy Lou Jenkins claims the natural world. Not willing to assign wild spaces exclusively to those who conquer mountain summits or traverse class five rapids in a swell of pulsing adrenaline, she heads outdoors with her son. Removed from telephones, iPods, computers, and advertising, authentic time materializes.

Every Natural Fact: Five Seasons of Open-Air Parenting is a narrative of mother-and-son nature outings across the state of Wisconsin. In a style that blends the voices of Janisse Ray and Annie Dillard, Amy Lou and DJ explore parallels in the world of people and nature. The interconnected chapters stand on their own and build upon each other. These explorations of natural history, flora and fauna, and parenting themes demonstrate that the mythic thread that winds through everything can still be found, even in a world of wounds. Amy Lou Jenkins' award-winning writing is rich in sensory immediacy, characterization, natural history, and humor.

"When we roam natural places, I'm in accord with John Muir who said, 'Always, we get more than we expect'," Says Amy Lou Jenkins.

Amy Lou Jenkins holds an MFA in literature and creative writing from Bennington College. She has taught nonfiction writing at Carroll University and multiple writing conferences and workshops. Her manuscript has garnered awards and accolades from literary venues and an impressive list of writers including a National Book Award winner. Find a list of events and appearances and more at www.AmyLouJenkins.com.

What others are saying about Every Natural Fact: 

"Any reader drawn to the outdoors will cherish EVERY NATURAL FACT and its author's sensual intelligence potted in the fertile soil of a boundless curiosity for the world. Amy Lou Jenkins is the Anna Quindlen of the north woods, the Rachel Carson of the good land of Wisconsin, bequeathing to her son and to all of us an indestructible sense of wonder". —Bob Shacochis, National Book Award-winning author of Easy in The Islands and The Immaculate Invasion

"What makes this book such a marvel is the way the human and the non-human are kept in perfect balance: the psychological dance of a mother and son, with all its funny, touching, realistic two-steps, intersects with the desire to be opened up to the mystery and rapture of the natural sublime. It is a splendid fusion, as much about parenting and education and generation gaps as it is about patient observation of landscapes in flux. Jenkins' polished literary style makes it, sentence by sentence, a joy to read."— Phillip Lopate, Author of Waterfront

Every Natural Fact, by Amy Lou Jenkins

Pub. Date May 24, 2010; Price:$14.95; 180 pages, ISBN 13- 978-0982354513