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The Solace of Open Spaces

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The Solace of Open Spaces

By: Gretel Ehrlich
Narrated by: Gretel Ehrlich
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About this listen

 A collection of transcendent, lyrical essays on life in the American West, the classic companion to Gretel Ehrlich’s new book, Unsolaced

“Wyoming has found its Whitman.” —Annie Dillard

Poet and filmmaker Gretel Ehrlich went to Wyoming in 1975 to make the first in a series of documentaries when her partner died. Ehrlich stayed on and found she couldn’t leave. The Solace of Open Spaces is a chronicle of her first years on “the planet of Wyoming,” a personal journey into a place, a feeling, and a way of life.
 
Ehrlich captures both the otherworldly beauty and cruelty of the natural forces—the harsh wind, bitter cold, and swiftly changing seasons—in the remote reaches of the American West. She brings depth, tenderness, and humor to her portraits of the peculiar souls who also call it home: hermits and ranchers, rodeo cowboys and schoolteachers, dreamers and realists. Together, these essays form an evocative and vibrant tribute to the life Ehrlich chose and the geography she loves.
 
Originally written as journal entries addressed to a friend, The Solace of Open Spaces is raw, meditative, electrifying, and uncommonly wise. In prose “as expansive as a Wyoming vista, as charged as a bolt of prairie lightning” (Newsday), Ehrlich explores the magical interplay between our interior lives and the world around us. Adventure Travel Environmentalists & Naturalists Nature & Ecology North America Outdoors & Nature Professionals & Academics Science Travel Writing & Commentary United States Adventure cowboy Wyoming Witty

Critic reviews

Praise for Gretel Ehrlich and The Solace of Open Spaces:

"Any one of [its 12 chapters] stands beautifully on its own . . . She brings the long vistas into focus with the poise of an Ansel Adams." —The New York Times Book Review

"A stunning rumination on life on Wyoming's High Plains . . . Ehrlich's gorgeous prose is as expansive as a Wyoming vista, as charged as a bolt of prairie lightning." —Newsday

"Ehrlich's best prose belongs in a league with Annie Dillard and even Thoreau. The Solace of Open Spaces releases the bracing air of the wilderness into the stuffy, heated confines of winter in civilization." —San Francisco Chronicle

"Ehrlich [is] a gifted essayist and nature writer." —The Washington Post

"Vivid, tough, and funny . . . an exuberant and powerful book." —Annie Dillard
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Insightful and educational story telling by a Goddess of description of landscape and people …sit back and relax and listen to this unforgettable tale of the modern ‘cowboy and American Indian’ lives…

Descriptive prose of the West

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Poetic, informative, a fascinating insight into Wyoming life and the inhabitants who live there. Good narration.

A wonderful listen

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She writes wonderfully. One of the most elegant American writers (in my humble opinion). Highly recommended read.

Beautiful writing on a beautiful subject

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I wish had come to this sooner! takes you on a wonderful journey, across the west, its people, history, culture, scenery, wildlife and you become immersed in the experience.

A truly beautiful book, evocative, stirring.

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Prose as poetry. I listened to this after watching Yellowstone, wanting to know more about that way of life and that part of the world and found everything I was looking for and more.

A perfect joy

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