Following Atticus by Tom Ryan

276 pages, nonfiction/memoir

Following Atticus is the story of a tough one-man newspaper owner from Massachusetts who decides after the death of a friend to climb all 48 4000-foot peaks in the winter while raising money for cancer research.  While it’s the story of how his first dog, Maxwell Garrison Gillis re-opened his heart to love and companionship, and his second dog, Atticus Maxwell Finch, the miniature schnauzer who climbed all the peaks with him and loved the mountains, it’s more of a story of companionship, pushing boundaries, bagging peaks, and in the process learning to slow down and enjoy the journey.

This book is incredible.  Just to put this in perspective, I am not a dog person (partially I’m allergic, partially, I’ve had a few bad run-ins with dogs while running) and books about dogs never are my thing.  But while this book is sort of about the dog and the inspiration taken from a 20 pound miniature schnauzer who seems to be designed for mountain climbing, it’s so much more than that.  It’s about companionship, it’s about so deeply experiencing a place that you find that “genus loci” there, it’s about having this experience that you know is changing you and you’re not sure what’s on the other side but you keep experiencing it anyway because you know you can’t turn back.  I was incredibly inspired by Tom Ryan’s beautiful writing and his use of quotes from great writers of nature:  Walt Whitman, John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, etc.  Just one example:

(Tom uses this quote to talk about the mountains, while the quote is about poetry) “Permanence in poetry as in love is perceived instantly.  It has not to await the test of time.  The proof of a poem is not that we have never forgotten it, but that we knew at sight we could never forget it.”  -Robert Frost

This quote hits the nail on the head about how I feel at Glacier.  I remember reaching the destination in my first 10 mile hike and just being transfixed by the most gorgeous sight I’ve ever laid my eyes upon.  I knew instantly I would never forget it and that moment somehow changed me.  It’s hard to even put to words what that experience is, but in these awe-inspiring natural vistas, I feel this sense of overwhelming peace, and I know that the Creator of all things took not only the time to create this magnificent view but somehow, amazingly, also me.

(This picture doesn’t even begin to do justice to this place.  The scale is way off – the small iceberg in the center would be larger than a smart car.  Then picture this view wrapping 180 degrees around you.  And then this was taken with a cell phone so the colors are off – that lake is actually a strikingly vibrant teal-blue color.  Better yet, just go hike the Iceberg Lake trail in Glacier for yourself!)

Overall, I’d give this book a 10 of 10 for enjoyment and a 4.5 of 5 for readability.  Only the 4.5 cause I kept having to stop to look through vacation pictures to find the moment that I’ve had that fits some of the beautiful quotes in this book.  If you love dogs, read it.  If you love mountains, read it.  If you love stories of companionship or change or growth, read it.  Now excuse me, I’m off to plan next summer’s trip to the White Mountains!

-Holly