Submitted by Griffin Bay Bookstore

Griffin Bay Bookstore hosts author Kurt Hoelting featuring his new memoir, Apprentice to the Wild on Sunday, April 27 at 2 pm in the bookstore café.

Apprentice to the Wildcharts Kurt Hoelting’s encounters with wildness and risk as a commercial fisherman and wilderness guide in Alaska, while mapping his simultaneous exploration of the wild within as a Zen practitioner and mindfulness teacher. Inspired by the words and friendship of Gary Snyder, Hoelting guided mindfulness-based kayaking expeditions in Alaska focused on how the “practice of the wild” informs both our inner and outer landscapes. In later essays, he charts his path toward healing following the death of his two sons, while exploring what it means to become an elder in turbulent times. With honesty and wisdom, Hoelting offers timely advice: “In a time of profound ecological challenges, reclaiming a felt connection with the wild forces that gave birth to our species has become an essential part of our emerging survival equipment.”

A brief discussion will follow the reading. Copies of Apprentice to the Wild are on sale, and Kurt will be happy to dedicate individual copies.

Before retiring, Kurt served as a head guide for a sea kayaking outfitter-guide company in Alaska he created as a way to weave mindfulness practice into wilderness exploration. Closing the imagined gap between human nature and wild nature has been a lifelong passion for him.

In an era filled with conflict and cultural polarization, he has found a new refuge in seeing the world freshly through the eyes of his grandchildren. With all the losses we are enduring in our collective lives, he is grateful to sit at the feet of these children who remain committed to teaching their grandpa to stay rooted in wonder and curiosity. These recent encounters with the “human wild”, along with stories from his life on the wild edge of Alaska, are the subject of his new book Apprentice to the Wild.

Griffin Bay Bookstore, located at 155 Spring St., Friday Harbor, WA is part of IndieBound, developed by the American Booksellers Association, to promote the benefits of independent bookstores across America as well as the benefits of shopping or buying locally. When you shop locally and support your independent bookstore you nurture your own community.