Under Big-Hearted Skies: A Young Man's Memoir of Adventure, Wilderness, & Love

Book Synopsis: Tom at seventeen years old, naïve and optimistic, took a bush-plane flight north to remote wilderness and work at an isolated fishing lodge. Only days into the season, confrontations with coworkers escalates into threats on his life. So a young man makes a stand.

In a later year and having gotten his pilot license, Tom’s float plane is screaming down the lake and won’t lift from the surface. He’s run out of liquid runway with no time to power down. The big forest closing in. He crashes...

Chapter by chapter, these memoir stories move from laugh-out-loud accounts to flushed romances with hearts both swelled and broken to tales of rapid intensification from imminent threats to Tom’s life—some of them self-imposed. Tom doesn’t invite you to glimpse his world, he straps you into the seat beside him, smiles, and pushes throttle to full. Stories like Twain with scenes set to Krakauer backdrops and words on the page in honest prose like Hemingway--an affectionate yet piercing memoir of northern adventure, wilderness, and love. Thrilling and heart-wrenching, stirring and joyous, Under Big-Hearted Skies is an intimate perspective yet panoramic view of an impassioned life.

★★★★★ Winner Canada Book Awards 2020 ★★★★★
#1 Amazon Bestseller in FOUR categories including: Travel Biographies & Memoirs, Outdoors & Nature ★★★★★

“I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys looking over the shoulder of a modern day Tom Sawyer. ★★★★★” -Verified Purchaser

"I have tears rolling down onto my chin right now. Wow. Reading UBHS was a joyful experience—it’s not often one encounters a narrator with Tom’s heart, experience, and technical expertise. ★★★★★” -Margo LaPierre, editor for Guernica Editions

Reviews from Verified Purchasers:

“Adventurous, Amusing and Emotional - Reading about the experiences of a young Canadian adventurer makes me what to pack a bag and head out into unknown. Each story contributes to a wonderful collage of Canadiana so few in our vast nation have had the privilege of experiencing. Outstanding.”

“Beautifully shared memories so genuine and from the heart. - These stories are written with so much honesty and soul. While they read beautifully as individual memories, I wouldn't recommend skipping a single one.”

“Fantastic & Modern Read - Tom has such a unique style of engaging the reader through language and spirit that reaches out to you on such a sincerely personal level. Seldom do you come across such natural and genuine honesty within modern writing - something I believe the world could use a little bit more of.”

"A Well-written, entertaining read! - I surprised myself by finishing this book in 2 days! Tom's honesty in his storytelling makes his stories very relatable and thus quite entertaining to read."

Read more