Woodswoman II: Beyond Black Bear Lake Book

Beyond Black Bear Lake, the second in the "Woodswoman" trilogy, finds author Anne LaBastille somewhat plagued by the success of her first book. Her little cabin on the shores of Black Bear Lake in the Adirondack mountains is now being visited by fans of her book; some friendly, some intrusive, and all not personally invited by Anne. An extremely private person, Anne views these intrusions to her property and work as rude and exasperating. In a duel desire to find peace and to emulate Thoreau's cabin at Walden Pond, Anne ranges even further afield into her property and builds a smaller cabin on Lilypad Lake. With the help of friends, Anne's new haven, christened Thoreau II, is everything she loves and needs.

Beyond Black Bear Lake further explores Anne's philosophy of life and addresses such concerns as acid rain, nuclear waste disposal, military flyover zones, and other environmental causes close to Anne's heart. But it is her personal stories that really make this another engaging outing for the reader, as Anne talks about her 2 German shepherd "children", her new love interest, her efforts to build Thoreau II, and some old-timers she considered not only mentors, but good friends.

Filled with dozens of black and white photographs, this book is laced with bitter-sweet observations and dry humor from Anne. She's unapologetic about her beliefs, somewhat acerbic, but always "real". I don't know if I would have actually liked Anne (as she seems very stand-offish and blunt), but I do know that I admire her and what she stands for: personal freedom and independence and going against the tide.

Another keeper in my bookshelf, and I look forward to reading her final book in the trilogy: Woodswoman III: Book Three of the Woodswoman's Adventures