The Windward Shore by Jerry Dennis
“One lifetime isn’t enough to learn a county, a town, even a backyard”
~Jerry Dennis
Local author Jerry Dennis has a new book out. Titled The Windward Shore, it explores winter in Great Lakes country and the issues facing our beloved lakes, complete with illustrations from artist Glenn Wolff.
Outdoor writer Dave Richey says:
Jerry Dennis is a natural treasure, and he keeps writing new and more wonderful books. Fitting him into a specific category can be a bit difficult because he is at once, an outdoor writer, a conservationist, a nature lover, a dreamer, who develops words of magic that capture the soul and spirit of those of us lucky enough to live near the Great Lakes.
Winter around Lake Michigan may hardly seem a great topic for a book, but once Dennis sank his teeth into this tasty morsel that he and I both call home, and the result is the magic of this book about the area, the lives of nearby inhabitants, and stories painted by word pictures about this snow and ice-bound area. He teaches us about living in a log cabin along Lake Superior, more about desolate and wind-swept beaches, the power and the magnetic pull a winter storm has on those of us who stay here all winter rather than heading south with other snowbirds.
Dennis gracefully takes us along with him as we plod along frozen shorelines, listen as the surf pounds at shelves of ice, and we hear and feel the moan of an angry wind as it lashes the North County. We see, feel, hear, taste and touch winter along the Great Lakes, and we rejoice with the author as he examines everything about winter in this area.
Definitely check this book out – Jerry is one of the best! FYI, the book trailer was produced by Jerry’s son Aaron of Stone Hut Studios – definitely a good idea to encourage your kids to be creative!
Jerry Dennis is in to it, and brings the fortunate reader along for the walk. Stories, observations, and lessons are seamlessly woven to illustrate how complexities mesh with simplicities in and around us. At the end of many passages I would loudly exclaim: “YES”, as if cheering a great play at a sporting event.
The Windward Shore is so much more than a reverent glimpse of our Great Lakes region and season.
Jerry wields language poetically while deeply unearthing aspects of his subject matter you never knew existed. This is a book you’ll want on your coffee table as it’s as suited for a 5 minute infusion, as it is for an hour long lie down. Grab a few copies; you’ll want to hand them to your friends. – Brad Purcell