You Wouldn't Like It Here: A Guide to the Real Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Everything Grows in the Valley started off as a journal of various experiences from some of the darkest times of my life. My inspiration to tell my story was fueled by my first visual experience of a real mountain. As I stood there I recall taking in all of it's beauty but viewing it from a unique lens. As I gazed upon the mountain's peak I did not feel the glory that so many esteemed as the mountain's greatest virtue. What I saw at the mountaintop was cold, barren, desolate, and lonely. Unlike so many others the beauty that I saw was in the mountain's valley. When I looked at the base of that mountain, the valley, what I saw was life, birds flying, rivers streaming, and beautiful foliage. Everything that gave that mountain life flowed from its' root and stood as the foundation of its greatness. Without the valley the structure of that mountain could not exist. I immediately paralleled the structure of that mountain with life's journey. During our valley experiences we suffer tremendous adversity. We become so consumed with just trying to survive the experience that we don't take a moment to embrace the lessons and growth that comes with it. When we are living a valley experience our world may appear dark, cold, grey, and colorless, with no hues of light. We become consumed with darkness as if we were dropped into a deep canal and no one knows we are there. We are lifeless and alone with no energy to pull ourselves into the light. This story is a memoir of my journey and my redemption.…