Downstream from Here: A Big Life in a Small Place

A NEW EXPANDED EDITION OF THIS BOOK HAS REPLACED THIS ONE

Witnessed Assassination, a Disruptive Invention, Fundraising as Fly Fishing and a Tree Named Elsie in a Cherry Orchard in Michigan

“Why not learn how to learn by doing? Why not go backwards and forwards at the same time, intro-prospecting what’s gone into our gene pool by letting it come out as the future unfolded? Each of us is a family album that few of us take the time to reference. The trick is learning how to read the pages while making new ones at the same time. The turning part happens by itself — you just need to pay attention.”

CHARLES R. EISENDRATH, in this series of essays spanning four decades, explores the things that grow lives of their own when left undisturbed at a second home — things like an “ancestor room,” a storm-struck forest, a player piano and a childhood fear of wild dogs. These essays are about the loves of a place inhabited temporarily, but which shape a person permanently.

In 1973, after covering the assassination of Chilean President Salvador Allende for Time magazine, Eisendrath decided to not let a career stand in the way of growing roots and building a life. He moved with his wife and two young sons to Michigan, a part of the world imagined and carved into 160-acre homesteads by Thomas Jefferson. At Overlook Farm, the Eisendraths would be his heirs.

These essays range from Anatolia to Argentina, from FDR’s secret wartime fishing trip to a plane crash in Costa Rica. The margin notes of academic articles lead to a grill admired by James Beard and a Saudi prince. Tenure at the University of Michigan inspires a cherry orchard and bulldozers invite ghosts. Serious, hilarious, inquisitive, spontaneous, Eisendrath introduces us to the people and places, the life, death and afterlife that goes on nonstop, all around us, all by itself.

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR DOWNSTREAM FROM HERE

“Charles Eisendrath has long been considered a reporter’s reporter, but with Downstream from Here he takes us on a lyrical and altogether enchanting journey through a rich life of family, nature, farms, fish and fun. He reminds us to ignore the deadlines and breathe boldly.” TOM BROKAW

“An amazing, beautifully written and unusual memoir.” —KEN AULETTA, author, Annals of Communicationscolumnist for the New Yorker

“Prepare to be inspired.” —JEFF DANIELS

“… a joy!” —ELLEN GOODMAN

“…what really is fulfillment? You’ll leave this book in a better place to find it.” —DAVID GREENE, co-host of NPR

“Eisendrath offers us an eclectic collection of essays that highlight the value of place in our emotional lives.” —CLARENCE PAGE, author, columnist, editorial board member of the Chicago Tribune

“...Eisendrath has written a memoir, a travel book, a study of nature, a poem about longing, achievements, disappointments and, ultimately, joy.” —DOUG STANTON, author, co-founder of The National Writers Series

“… a paen to place and to family…” —ARI WEINZWEIG, author, co-founding partner, Zingerman’s community of businesses

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR DOWNSTREAM FROM HERE

"Charles Eisendrath has long been considered a reporter's reporter, but with Downstream from Here he takes us on a lyrical and altogether enchanting journey through a rich life of family, nature, farms, fish and fun. He reminds us to ignore the deadlines and breathe boldly." --TOM BROKAW

"An amazing, beautifully written and unusual memoir." --KEN AULETTA, author, Annals of Communications columnist for the New Yorker

"Prepare to be inspired." --JEFF DANIELS

"... a joy!" --ELLEN GOODMAN

"...what really is fulfillment? You'll leave this book in a better place to find it." --DAVID GREENE, co-host of NPR

"Eisendrath offers us an eclectic collection of essays that highlight the value of place in our emotional lives." --CLARENCE PAGE, author, columnist, editorial board member of the Chicago Tribune

"...Eisendrath has written a memoir, a travel book, a study of nature, a poem about longing, achievements, disappointments and, ultimately, joy." --DOUG STANTON, author, co-founder of The National Writers Series

"... a paean to place and to family..." --ARI WEINZWEIG, author, co-founding partner, Zingerman's community of businesses