“In this beautifully written memoir, Elisa Stancil Levine takes the reader on a wild ride on her extraordinary life journey. Through it all she explores the combination of surrender and decisive action, trust and wariness, solitude and human connection, intuition and painstaking self-inquiry, grace and sheer hard labor that lie at the heart of the great mystery of human resilience. “

Noelle Oxenhandler

Author of The Wishing Year (Random House) and The Eros of Parenthood (St. Martin’s Press.)

“This riveting story of the ‘making of a maker’ is more than a memoir, it is a testament to nature’s role in creativity. The author’s persistence and intuitive spirit come through in every chapter, inviting readers to embrace their own path toward wholeness and authenticity. . . . Moving, illuminating and inspiring.“

Heidi Gerpheide

Publisher of California Homes Magazine 

“Elisa Stancil Levine’s memoir embarks on a rich journey to earlier times in the rural foothills of California—and sweeps up to date to first-hand accounts of wildfire and drought in today’s Sonoma County. Her stories of growing up in a world full of both wonder and danger are unique: told with frank detail, coming to conclusions about curiosities she encounters with both balance and generosity. She fills every page with beauty and learning… Her life is multi textured because she has made it so. This lovely book is well worth a read.”

Rebecca Lawton

Author of Swimming Grand Canyon and Other Poems (Finishing Line Press, 2021)