This week, Lauren speaks with American naturalist, outdoorsman, and best-selling author Doug Peacock about his new book of essays, Was It Worth It?: A Wilderness Warrior’s Long Trail Home (Patagonia Books). The inspiration for the character George Washington Hayduke in Edward Abbey’s The Monkeywrench Gang, Peacock has spent his life championing grizzly bears and hyping the importance of wilderness conservation. Was It Worth It? is a retrospective glimpse into the spaces and faces, both human and more-than-human, that he has called home—the wilds of Montana, Wyoming, the Sonoran Desert; grizzlies, tigers, spirit bears, birds of the Galápagos Islands; his wife, his daughter, his closest friends. In light of planetary catastrophes like global warming and a global pandemic, Peacock asks not only Where do we go from here? but Was It Worth It? This book is a wild romp through history and memory and features beautiful photographs alongside crisp, empathetic prose.
About Doug:
An American naturalist, outdoorsman and best-selling author, Doug Peacock is best known for his book Grizzly Years: In Search of the American Wilderness (Henry Holt & Co.), a memoir of his time observing grizzly bears in the western U.S. in the ’70s and ’80s. He has co-founded several conservation organizations and spends considerable time seeking wilderness, solitude, and grizzlies. He lives in Emigrant, Montana.
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The Write Question team is Lauren Korn, host and co-producer; Peter Hoag, co-producer and editor; and Tom Berich, sound engineer.
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Funding for The Write Question comes from Humanities Montana; members of Montana Public Radio; and from the Greater Montana Foundation—encouraging communication on issues, trends, and values of importance to Montanans.
The Write Question is a production of Montana Public Radio.
