Tim Collins/Contributor
Carolyn Redl and David Norwell are West Coast authors with two very different personalities who, nonetheless, share a passion for the West Coast and nature.
Each has written about the West Coast and their books, launched on the same day in Victoria, have provided readers with perspectives and insights into the singularly fantastic environment that we share.
Redl’s book Four Seasons by the Salish Sea: Discovering the Natural Wonders of Coastal Living is part travelogue and part natural history. In it, Redl explores life over the course of a year by the waters that extend from Port Renfrew on the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Desolation Sound.
“The book evolved rather gradually. I had published several short articles and, at one point, realized that I had enough for a book,” Redl said.
“It was a fun experience to find that, as I was reviewing the material, I discovered that my perspective had changed over the course of the passing seasons. It made me want to go back and learn more about the places I’d previously written about.”
Redl feels that people who do not live on the coast may find that they’re surprised by some of what they’ll learn in her book.
“Inlanders (those who do not live next to the sea) come here in the summer, but they don’t realize that they’re only seeing a sliver of what is there. They don’t realize that there are amazing things that happen at other times of the year, so they never really get the whole picture,” Redl said.
“I tried to address that.”
Born in Saskatchewan, Redl admits to having experienced her own learning curve when she came to the West Coast.
“I always knew, somehow, that my life wouldn’t be complete without living by the water. Now I love the ocean – I love swimming in the ocean – and I am passionate about the environment,” Redl said. “I try to evoke that same love in my readers, and I believe that if we all loved nature, we could solve our environmental problems.”
Her book contains more than 100 stunning photographs (many by local Vancouver Island artist Nancy Randall) and draws upon lessons that can be drawn from the experience of indigenous communities along the coast.
For his part, David Norwell’s book, A Complex Coast: A Kayak Journey from Vancouver Island to Alaska offers its own passionate environmental take on the West Coast, but from a very different perspective.
It’s a soul-searching personal account of Norwell’s daunting 1,700-kilometer kayak journey from Victoria B.C, to Gustavas Alaska, when he was a twenty-four-year-old student.
“I didn’t really know why I had to go, but I just did,” Norwell said.
Along the way, Norwell said that he developed a great respect for and was humbled by the people of the first nations.
“The people who live out there are part of the eco system. I learned how small I am and how, by cutting myself off from outside stimulation things just got more and more quiet. Life is this big, beautiful thing but we often get stuck. Most of us need to step outside our boxes and challenge ourselves to see the world as it is.”
Norwell kept a journal of his travels, his journey of self-discovery, and what he learned about himself and the world as he navigated the 50,000 islands that stretched along the Coast. The resulting book A Complex Coast is the resulting coming of age story.
What’s striking is that, as much as these books provide very different path to discovering the sometimes-fragile beauty of the West Coast, they seem to arrive at the same place in the end.
Each author has found peace of mind, a deep respect for the environment, and an appreciation for the first nations people who, perhaps, have known these truths for a very long time.
Redl will be appearing at Bolen Books in Victoria for a discussion on all things wild and natural.
The event will take place on Tuesday, June 13 at 7 p.m. when Redl will be joined by authors Robin Kort (The Coastal Forager’s Cookbook: Feasting Wild in the Pacific Northwest) and Amanda Lewis (Tracking Giants: Big Trees, Tiny Triumphs, and Misadventures in the Forest).
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