Overview

After surviving the usual debacles of adulthood (marriage, taxes, divorce), Ammi Midstokke does what any sensible single mom would do: She purchases an off-grid fixer-upper perched on a granite hilltop in rural Idaho. Underprepared and overcaffeinated, she embarks upon a series of seemingly inadvisable activities from getting lost in the mountains after dark to dangling on a rope with a chainsaw to relationshipping with bearded woodsmen and falling in love. In her hilarious yet sage debut essay collection, Midstokke demonstrates that battles with freeloading varmints, clogged stove pipes, childhood trauma, and one surprisingly aggressive boulder are unexpected, if not wonderfully entertaining, pathways to personal growth and joy. All the Things delivers the irreverent, fearless, and brilliant voice of a woman who laughs in the face of failure and soothes her wounds by splitting wood, often in her skivvies.

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9781957607139

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Reviews

"""This collection of essays is to be kept on hand for whenever you need to feel more normal, seen, or understood. Ammi's words come to life with amazing description, and while outrageous at times, these are very relatable stories. We all have our different versions of pushing limits and seeing what is possible. By sharing her wild rides, Ammi helps us see the light and the necessity in seeking more."" --Krissy Moehl, champion trail runner, coach, race director, and author of Running Your First Ultra ""For years I have relished Ms. Midstokke's columns in The Spokesman-Review, both for their wry self-deprecation and for the fine ear she tunes to backwoods grammar, whether in her homeland of Sandpoint or on an excursion to Scotland."" --Paul Lindholdt, Washington State Book Award-winning author of In Earshot of Water and Interrogating Travel ​ ""Nominally, these stories are about outdoor (mis)adventures, but I promise you'll laugh, cry, and nod your head in recognition of deeper wisdom, often all within the space of 600 words."" --Eli Francovich, outdoors editor for The Spokesman-Review and author of The Return of Wolves ​ ""Ammi's stories are like her life-unbridled and unique, with enough humor to hold her (and you) through the sweat and the tears of living as true to her calling as she can and still remain on this planet. Do not miss this chance to travel with Ammi, but be forewarned, it may be contagious."" --Dulcie Witman, LADC, MFA, and owner of Wide Open Writing ​ ""All the Things is a collage of memoiric musings, a collection of seventy-seven short essays, each crafted with whim, wit, and wisdom. Midstokke, an obsessive long-distance runner as well as a strong and confident forty-something mother, slows down to the speed of solitude in midlife, to contemplate fleeting moments of awareness that arise from a myriad of daily dramas and personal traumas, moments often overlooked, moments ripe for reflection, moments which may illuminate a path to spiritual redemption. ""I am looking for my story, even as I write it,"" writes Ammi Midstokke. And aren't we all?"" --Carl D. Barrentine, Emeritus Associate Professor of Humanities and Integrated Studies, University of North Dakota"

This collection of essays is to be kept on hand for whenever you need to feel more normal, seen, or understood. Ammi's words come to life with amazing description, and while outrageous at times, these are very relatable stories. We all have our different versions of pushing limits and seeing what is possible. By sharing her wild rides, Ammi helps us see the light and the necessity in seeking more. --Krissy Moehl, champion trail runner, coach, race director, and author of Running Your First Ultra For years I have relished Ms. Midstokke's columns in The Spokesman-Review, both for their wry self-deprecation and for the fine ear she tunes to backwoods grammar, whether in her homeland of Sandpoint or on an excursion to Scotland. --Paul Lindholdt, Washington State Book Award-winning author of In Earshot of Water and Interrogating Travel Nominally, these stories are about outdoor (mis)adventures, but I promise you'll laugh, cry, and nod your head in recognition of deeper wisdom, often all within the space of 600 words. --Eli Francovich, outdoors editor for The Spokesman-Review and author of The Return of Wolves Ammi's stories are like her life-unbridled and unique, with enough humor to hold her (and you) through the sweat and the tears of living as true to her calling as she can and still remain on this planet. Do not miss this chance to travel with Ammi, but be forewarned, it may be contagious. --Dulcie Witman, LADC, MFA, and owner of Wide Open Writing All the Things is a collage of memoiric musings, a collection of seventy-seven short essays, each crafted with whim, wit, and wisdom. Midstokke, an obsessive long-distance runner as well as a strong and confident forty-something mother, slows down to the speed of solitude in midlife, to contemplate fleeting moments of awareness that arise from a myriad of daily dramas and personal traumas, moments often overlooked, moments ripe for reflection, moments which may illuminate a path to spiritual redemption. I am looking for my story, even as I write it, writes Ammi Midstokke. And aren't we all? --Carl D. Barrentine, Emeritus Associate Professor of Humanities and Integrated Studies, University of North Dakota

Author Information

A popular columnist for The Spokesman-Review and Out There Outdoors, Ammi grew up in the mountains of North Idaho, where spring trilliums and fall firewood left their mark on her soul. After over a decade of global adventures that often included the luxury of electricity and running water, she returned to her hometown of Sandpoint. She lives in the forest with her husband, their two children, and a fluctuating animal-to-human ratio.

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