In the wake of his river–running mother's death, Zak Podmore explores the healing power of wild places through a lens of grief and regeneration. Visceral, first–person narratives include a canoe crossing of the Colorado River delta during a rare release of water, a kayak sprint down a flash–flooding Little Colorado River, and a packraft trip on the Elwha River in Washington through the largest dam removal project in history.
"An ambitious, adventurous ride. The words themselves move like rivers-from choked, bucking rapids to languid flat water, to eddies swirling with uncomfortable truths… Zak Podmore has unleashed the kind of storytelling that will inspire the next great wave of ecological activism-and not a moment too soon."
AMY IRVINE, author of Desert Cabal
"These essays combine an adventurer's soul with a philosopher's head. Kudos to Zak Podmore, a fresh new voice from the West."
PHILIP CONNORS, author of A Song for the River
"The publication of Confluence marks the arrival of an important new voice in the West."
DAVID GESSNER, author of Ultimate Glory and All the Wild that Remains
