A Nature of Writing Speaker Series event, in partnership with Village Books
Out There recounts one man's search to lead an authentic life, an adventure that takes him all over the world and through some of the biggest societal changes of recent history. From a distance, this could be a typical American story: boy grows up in a religious home, joins the Navy to defend his country, returns home to attend university, then becomes a firefighter. That would be typical if it weren't for the fact that he's gay and was open in places that historically excluded people like him. After he was discharged from the Navy, Garland discovered time in nature as a way to heal from the experiences of his youth. While sailing, backpacking, and climbing in the Pacific Northwest, he navigates the challenges of becoming a first-generation college student, equal rights activist, and the first openly gay fireman in the Seattle fire department. Out There is a memoir of a man out in the wilderness, both physically and socially, on a journey to find a place to call his own. It is for anyone who has felt like an outsider or hasn't found their place yet.
ABOUT OUR BOOKSELLER PARTNER Village Books and Paper Dreams is a community-based, independent bookstore and gift shop located in the Historic Fairhaven Village on the southside of Bellingham, Washington. Since 1980, we have been "building community one book at a time." Village Books and Paper Dreams is a place to meet your friends, talk books, or just while away an hour or two among our shelves or at The Next Chapter Cafe deliciously perched on the mezzanine of Village Books, overlooking the Village Green. If you're in the neighborhood come on in to explore!
