Sightlines: The View of a Valley Through the Voice of Depression (Middlebury Bicentennial Series in Environmental Studies) - Hardcover

Osborne, Terry

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1584650834 ISBN 13: 9781584650836

Publisher: Middlebury College Pr, 2001

Synopsis

For twelve years, writer Terry Osborne devoted himself to an intense exploration of the physical environment near his home in the Connecticut River Valley. The more he walked the land, the more deeply he came to know its hills, wetlands, and swamps. But his growing intimacy with the area inspired something unexpected. The valley, formed by colliding and dividing continents, scoured by massive glaciers, and cut by rivers and streams, began to reveal and resonate with Osborne's internal landscape, long shaped from within by an unyielding depressive voice.

Osborne gradually discovers that the present -- both physical and mental -- is built on layers laid down in both the remote and recent past, layers that interpenetrate and circulate continually, transforming fragments into woven wholes. In Sightlines, he lyrically and movingly recounts how his external journey initiated and gave form and substance to a profound and therapeutic personal quest.

About this title

From the Publisher:

6 x 9 trim. 2 maps. LC 00-012290

From the Inside Flap:

“Sightlines is an open-hearted, elegant, and deep rendering of one man’s parallel journey into the New England landscape and the shifting moods of his own mind. It is lovely, and filled with understanding about the pain of depression, the pain it causes others, and the salve of the land.”—Kay Redfield Jamison, Professor of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and author of An Unquiet Mind

“I’ve never come across a ‘nature book’ like this one, and I’m certain that many readers—especially those who have lived in the shadow of depression—will be profoundly grateful to Terry Osborne for writing it. He shows us that it takes as much determination, as much boldness, as much hardened courage to explore the depths of our human soul as it takes to explore the wildest reaches of the earth itself.”—Richard Nelson, author of The Island Within

“Sightlines is a lovely interweaving of the physical and psychological world. Terry Osborne shows how in coming to know and love a landscape, we come to better know and love ourselves.”—Sam Osherson, author of Wrestling With Love

“The rustle of maple leaves, the distinctive call of an ovenbird, and the glint of sunlight on the trail beckon us into the Vermont woods as we follow Terry Osborne on a quest of healing and of personal growth. Everyone who loves the wild places of New England will find meaning in this uplifting story.”—Diana Muir, author of Reflections in Bullough’s Pond

“Terry Osborne looks equally hard at the stark, rich landscape of his New England home, and the complex inner landscape of his depression, his family relations, his heart as a man. The confluence of psyche, family, and nature observed and reflected upon produces a deep and moving meditation on manhood on the verge of a new millenium. Osborne’s work represents a new genre of writing for men, and for us all.”—Terrence Real, author of I Don’t Want to Talk About It

“In Sightlines, the god of small things turns out to be an American named Terry Osborne. He has written a marvelous book, mostly about one small piece of Vermont landscape. I found it compulsively readable.”—Noel Perrin

About this edition

• Publisher: Middlebury College Pr
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1584650834
• ISBN 13: 9781584650836
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 155