Lamberton's book, a literary work indeed! I am fishing for a word to describe it and the emotion it conveyed to me, but I cannot find a good word. It is a book filled with beauty and brokenness, arrogance and repentance, reel love and real love. It really is a story of the human condition, trying to walk a ridge line and not falling into the abyss. Some of us fall into the abyss due to our own stupidity and get caught up in all kinds of trouble for violating some cultural rules scripted as law. (Had Ken been in Kenya among the Luo people, the age of 14 is just right for marrying and he could have had as many wives as he could afford.) Others fall into the abyss due to illness which can be equally devastating. Still others would rather take their life on the ridge line before falling.

When someone takes a serous fall and survives it may take years for them to recover and all too often those who witness the fall are not there at the time of recovery. Karen, Ken's wife, was always there. An impressive part of this book is the story of a remarkable wife with her three children, committed to an intellegent man. She believed her love would return and again light up her life!

My sister who lives in Arizona heard about Ken's book in the newspaper and after reading it, she was certain that I would like it as well.

She was right. I read the book in several sittings. One of the reasons that it meant so much to me was because about 20 years ago, I took a 28 day survival class for one of my college credits. The experience took place in the southern desert of Utah. I learned to love and appreciate the desert. Ken has the words and the artistry to describe many of the things that I felt and experienced from participating in that Wilderness.

I also have a fascination for the prison system and how it changes a person's life. As Ken pointed out, prison certainly cannot be defined as rehabilitation. I like how he described the issue of doing time and how it weighed so heavily on his soul. He used his education and knowledge of the environment to lighten the burden of being in prison for 12 years. It was his escape and through his words he allowed us to escape with him.

My sister who lives in Arizona told me about this book after reading about it in the newspaper. She knew I had gained a great appreciation for the Desert after completing a 28 day survival trip in the southern desert of Utah about 20 years ago. Ken's book allowed me to regain some of the senses and feelings that I experienced while living in a world that has such a lack of appreciation. He certainly has an artistry for words that captured many of the experiences and emotions that were mine during those 28 days. I also have a fascination for the penal system and the affect that it has on a person. Ken validated how it is definitely not a place for rehabilitation but a place where time weighs on a person so heavily. I liked very much how he combined the Wilderness of the desert with the prison experience. It was an excellent book and I read it start to finish in one sitting.