Darrell Pedersen’s Campfire in the Basement: Reflections from a North Woods Lake will entertain and charm you.
You will laugh out loud as, nearly naked, Darrell chases squirrels from his bird feeder on a late-winter morning. Your heart will stir when you stand with Darrell on the bank of the Artichoke River as his dad reveals a romantic secret. But there’s more. A stolen agate will remind you that as an adult, you must speak up about injustice and about the need to care for creation. The arrival of winter birds will help you appreciate the changing seasons, but will also remind you that we all need to care for each other all the way through to the winters of our lives.
So go ahead. Take this trip with Darrell. Just know that, having done so, you will be changed. His irresistible, self-deprecating wit will entice you to seek out grace in your own life–those unearned blessings bestowed upon you by the people you love. And you will see and feel the world around you with newly discovered and abundant gratitude.
Katy Perry
Writer and Retired Teacher and education advocate, who is working on her own memoir.
Somewhat shy, perhaps a little frightened, a dozen children huddled with their teacher at the back of a full sanctuary. They had just returned from
When you have a good friend, you know what makes him tick, and why. CAMPFIRE IN THE BASEMENT contains all the “whats” and the “whys:
Campfire in the Basement: Reflections from a Northwoods Lake is a captivating memoir of childhood stories supported by previous generations’ values, hard work, and life’s