A father speaks to his sons about his past and his dreams, through a gathering of journal notes and poems set down in the years between his leaving home and making a home: Most of the passages that follow speak of wilderness of one kind or another, encountered either through adventure or through journeys of the heart . Over the years, you and your brother have learned that there are different kinds of wilderness. Some we are unable to avoid, while others we are drawn to, again and again. Places of difficulty, and pain; places of beauty, and strength. As you grow, you will find wilderness in many different places, and in many different ways. The boundaries are not fixed, and the heart knows no bounds at any rate. So when you find yourself at the edge of a hard place to live, whether in the mountains, in the city, or deep in conversation with someone you love, try to embrace that place, that life, with all your might. Learn to see the moment in its essence, to find the beauty and the strength in all of it, in both the good times and the bad. -from the Preface to The Years Between