Full Review by Tara Wolfson
Brock Evans doesn’t hold back. Whether traveling the world, fighting for wild places, or sharing the intimate details of his extraordinary life, Brock is not afraid to be vulnerable, to show us how to persevere in the face of immense internal and external struggles.
In this epic tome, Brock shares a winding, blow-by-blow journey from his coming of age, his trips around the world, his loves, his career, his illness, and his eventual return to the West to be closer to the places he fought to protect. Brock’s absolute honesty and ability to spin a yarn is captured through the journal entries, reminiscences, and clippings from more than a half-century of fighting on the front lines of the conservation movement. Whether writing about meeting his wife, Linda, on a bus in Washington, D.C., or getting arrested in a suit and Marine Corps tie in defense of old-growth forest, Brock paints a picture for the reader of a life lived fully, purposefully, and artfully.
In everything Brock does, he looks for the light and opportunity. Ever since Brock and Linda came into my life in the late 90s (we met during his semester at the Arava Institute in Southern Israel), I have seen first-hand his consistent recipe for success: “Endless Pressure, Endlessly Applied.” I carry this philosophy with me every day in my work with people from refugee backgrounds, in our community’s fight to thrive through this unprecedented global pandemic, and in my personal and family life. Brock sees things in people and places that we often do not see in ourselves, and has an uncanny ability to bring out our best qualities and get us working together on his team.
It is an honor to glance back through the phases of this eco-warrior life, to glimpse the victories and defeats, the excesses and privations, and the strategy and passion of what now seems a bygone era as we face daunting global challenges with the climate. May we carry Brock’s life’s lessons with us, once more unto the breach, as we fight for the people and places we hold dear.
In this epic tome, Brock shares a winding, blow-by-blow journey from his coming of age, his trips around the world, his loves, his career, his illness, and his eventual return to the West to be closer to the places he fought to protect. Brock’s absolute honesty and ability to spin a yarn is captured through the journal entries, reminiscences, and clippings from more than a half-century of fighting on the front lines of the conservation movement. Whether writing about meeting his wife, Linda, on a bus in Washington, D.C., or getting arrested in a suit and Marine Corps tie in defense of old-growth forest, Brock paints a picture for the reader of a life lived fully, purposefully, and artfully.
In everything Brock does, he looks for the light and opportunity. Ever since Brock and Linda came into my life in the late 90s (we met during his semester at the Arava Institute in Southern Israel), I have seen first-hand his consistent recipe for success: “Endless Pressure, Endlessly Applied.” I carry this philosophy with me every day in my work with people from refugee backgrounds, in our community’s fight to thrive through this unprecedented global pandemic, and in my personal and family life. Brock sees things in people and places that we often do not see in ourselves, and has an uncanny ability to bring out our best qualities and get us working together on his team.
It is an honor to glance back through the phases of this eco-warrior life, to glimpse the victories and defeats, the excesses and privations, and the strategy and passion of what now seems a bygone era as we face daunting global challenges with the climate. May we carry Brock’s life’s lessons with us, once more unto the breach, as we fight for the people and places we hold dear.
Tara Wolfson
Director, Idaho Office for Refugees
Director, Idaho Office for Refugees