Slow Road Home Fred First Goose Creek Press 2007

In his mid-fifties, Fred First decided to give up his career to fully explore the small valley in which he lives and take an honest look at himself and the natural world around him. Slow Road Home captures, in autobiographical and lyrical prose, the feel and essence of First's adjustment to life outside of the rat race and into his back-to-nature life on Goose Creek in Floyd County.

Though the book is not exactly chronologically arranged, in many of the early passages, one can feel the weight of the civilized world falling off him, and yet, at the same time, get a sense of his uncertainty of what to do with himself in the new world of "free time" and nature he has plunged into.

Once that weight falls, the book becomes primarily a celebration of the joy and beauty of simple things - the companionship of a good dog, the thrill of watching a raven ride the wind, the silent tranquility of snow, the satisfaction of a hard day's labor.

The book is not all goodness and light - life can be harsh and First does not shy away from those topics, either - but throughout the book, he consistently uses honest, evocative language to describe his landscapes, both physical and emotional, internal and external. There are also moments in which he reveals his obvious love of playing with language: he describes a surprise mid-winter warm streak as "a teaser, a complimentary packet of pretzels on the agonizingly long flight into spring" and of the working world he says, "no matter how good a job looks before you start it, there will be days when you'll need hip waders for mucking around in the barnyard bog most jobs eventually become."

Though First is a contemporary author, there's a sense in his essays of visiting a time long past - like the sepia-toned remembrances of old relatives we heard when we were children, set in a time and place when life seemed simpler. This book is a gentle reminder that life can still be like that. Like Thoreau before him, First reminds us that nature moves at a pace different than human society. He tells us we can all share in that slowed pace of life if we pay attention and take the time to look, listen, smell, feel, and drink in our natural surroundings.

The subtitle to this collection of essays is "A Blue Ridge Book of Days". First has called that subtitle "a serving suggestion." Yes, Slow Road Home is the kind of book one can be completely satisfied reading a few pages at a time, but an even better "serving suggestion" this time of year might be to put another log on the fire, give the dog a good scratch between the ears, have a seat in your favorite chair, pour yourself a cup of warm apple cider, and spend a relaxing autumn afternoon exploring the beauty and wonder of Floyd County through Fred First's words and senses.

Rating: 3.5 out of 4 Winstons

John C. Leonard became a fan of non-fiction nature writers in Blacksburg High School teacher Shirley
Maybury's English class.