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I am someone who becomes totally consumed by the stories and books I write, by the subjects that I pursue. There is a common thread in much of my reporting and books: the complicated, fraught, and fascinating connection between us and the natural world. My first book, BIG LONELY DOUG, was about a skyscraper-tall Douglas-fir tree in Canada that was saved by a logger and turned into an environmental icon. My second book, LOST IN THE VALLEY OF DEATH, was about an American backpacker who mysteriously vanished in a remote Himalayan valley in India where dozens of other travellers have disappeared over the years.
Some of my favourite and most meaningful moments in writing have been interacting with readers, learning what spoke to them, being surprised by what they connected with, hearing about what resonated. Emails or brief interactions at book events are wonderful but limited—so I'm excited to have more in-depth conversations with passionate readers who believe that reading the final sentence is only the beginning.
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For centuries, India has enthralled westerners looking for an exotic getaway, a brief immersion in yoga and meditation, or in rare cases, a true pilgrimage to find spiritual revelation. Justin Alexander Shetler, an inveterate traveler trained in wilderness survival, was one such seeker.
In his early thirties Justin Alexander Shetler, quit his job at a tech startup and set out on a global journey: across the United States by motorcycle, then down to South America, and on to the Philippines, Thailand, and Nepal, in search of authentic experiences and meaningful encounters, while also documenting his travels on Instagram. His enigmatic character and magnetic personality gained him a devoted following who lived vicariously through his adventures. But the ever restless explorer was driven to pursue ever greater challenges, and greater risks, in what had become a personal quest--his own hero's journey.
In 2016, he made his way to the Parvati Valley, a remote and rugged corner of the Indian Himalayas steeped in mystical tradition yet shrouded in darkness and danger. There, he spent weeks studying under the guidance of a sadhu, an Indian holy man, living and meditating in a cave. At the end of August, accompanied by the sadhu, he set off on a "spiritual journey" to a holy lake--a journey from which he would never return.
“A layered inquisition and a reportorial force…a technicolor mystery. …In prose that moves like a clear river...Rustad has done what the best storytellers do: tried to track the story to its last twig and then stepped aside.”
— The New York Times
On a cool morning in the winter of 2011, a logger named Dennis Cronin was walking through a stand of old-growth forest near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island. His job was to survey the land and flag the boundaries for clear-cutting. As he made his way through the forest, Cronin came across a massive Douglas-fir the height of a twenty-storey building. It was one of the largest trees in Canada that if felled and milled could easily fetch more than fifty thousand dollars. Instead of moving on, he reached into his vest pocket for a flagging he rarely used, tore off a strip, and wrapped it around the base of the trunk. Along the length of the ribbon were the words “LEAVE TREE.”
When the fallers arrived, every wiry cedar, every droopy-topped hemlock, every great fir was cut down and hauled away—all except one. The solitary tree stood quietly in the clear cut until activist and photographer T.J. Watt stumbled upon the Douglas-fir while searching for big trees for the Ancient Forest Alliance, an environmental organization fighting to protect British Columbia's dwindling old-growth forests. The single Douglas-fir exemplified their cause: the grandeur of these trees juxtaposed with their plight. They gave it a name: Big Lonely Doug. The tree would also eventually, and controversially, be turned into the poster child of the Tall Tree Capital of Canada, attracting thousands of tourists every year and garnering the attention of artists, businesses, and organizations who saw new values encased within its bark.
“Among the joys of good writing and deep research are the ways in which it can reinvigorate a place you thought you knew, inviting you to see it, and feel it, afresh. This is just one of the gifts of Big Lonely Doug, an avatar of the west coast rainforest that, through Harley Rustad’s insightful and nuanced telling, embodies this vital ecosystem in all its beauty and complexity. Reading this book made me want to drop everything and meet Doug in person.”
― John Vaillant, author of THE GOLDEN SPRUCE
