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Product Details
Free Press, March 2011
Hardcover, 304 pages
ISBN-10: 1439172978
ISBN-13: 9781439172971
Description
Tracy Ross never knew her biological father, who died after a brain aneurysm when she was still an infant. So when her mother married Donnie, a gregarious man with an all-wheel-drive jeep and a love of hiking, four-year-old Tracy was ecstatic to have a father figure in her life. A loving and devoted step-father, Donnie introduced Tracy’s family to the joys of fishing, deer hunting, camping, and hiking among the most pristine mountains of rural Idaho. Donnie was everything Tracy dreamed a dad would be—protective, brave, and kind. But when his dependence on his eight-year-old daughter’s companionship went too far, everything changed. Once Donnie’s nighttime visits began, Tracy’s childhood became a confusing blend of normal little girl moments and the sickening, secret invasion of her safety. Tormented by this profound betrayal, Tracy struggled to reconcile deeply conflicting feelings about her stepfather: on the one hand, fear and loathing, on the other hand, the love any daughter would have for her father. It was not until she ran away from home as a teenager that her family was forced to confront the abuse—and it tore them apart. At sixteen, realizing that she must take control of her own future, Tracy sent herself to boarding school and began the long slow process of recovery. There, in the woods of Northern Michigan, Tracy felt called back to the natural world she had loved as a child. Over the next twenty years, the mountains and rivers of North America provided Tracy with strength, confidence, comfort, and inspiration. From trekking through the glaciers of Alaska to guiding teenagers through the deserts of Utah, Tracy pushed herself to the physical limit on her way to becoming whole again. Yet, as she came into her own, found love, and even started a family, Tracy realized that in order to truly heal she had to confront her stepfather about the demons from the past haunting them both. The Source of All Things is a stunning, unforgettable story about a wounded daughter, her stepfather, and a mistake that has taken thirty years and thousands of miles of raw wilderness to reconcile. Only Tracy can know if Donnie is forgivable. But one thing is for certain: In no other story of abuse does a survivor have as much strength, compassion, bravery, and spirit as Tracy displays in The Source of All Things
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"Disturbing but beautifully written...[We've] heard stories like these before, but rarely in such clear, unsentimental prose."
-- O magazine
"Brave and heartbreaking...her courageous story will bring solace and inspiration to others drowning in fear and lacking a voice of their own."
-- Elle magazine
"[An] extraordinary journey of anguish and redemption..." -People magazine
“The Source of All Things is a brave book. Sustained by her love of nature, Tracy Ross’s search for truth, clarity, and vindication involving her childhood abuse is told in an easygoing voice that allows us to readily digest her horrors. In a kind of ironic silver lining, the man who abused Tracy also cultivated her love of the wild, introducing her to its exhilarating applications and healing powers where she always found solace--perhaps it was his unconscious attempt at salvation?”
-- Norman Ollestad, author of Crazy for the Storm
“Tracy Ross is unflinchingly honest as she portrays a life scarred by dark secrets and deeply concealed wounds. But it is in her beloved wilderness that we exalt in her hard won triumphs of self discovery and the serenity of forgiveness. The Source of All Things is a mesmerizing memoir that lingers in your mind long after you close the book.” - Mary Alice Monroe, New York Times bestselling author of The Butterfly’s Daughter
“Tracy Ross is fearless. She has faced the black stuff of her childhood and turned it into a memoir that will grip you, break your heart, and finally sing to you. Most of all, you will be glad she survived to write this funny, inspiring, beautiful book.”
-- Claire Dederer, author of Poser: My Life in Twenty-Three Yoga Poses
"I loved this book. Part survivor memoir and part love letter to nature, I found The Source of All Things compulsively readable and intensely enthralling. "
-- Julia Scheeres, author of A Thousand Lives
“In this brave memoir Tracy Ross embodies the detachment necessary to function while the wound of childhood sexual trauma festers unseen, erupting in self-destructive, dangerous behaviors until Ross can finally learn the truth, and thus begin to heal. In speaking her truth, in making herself vulnerable, she will help heal others.”
-- Janine Latus, author of If I Am Missing or Dead: a sister’s story of love, murder and liberation
"Powerful...a compelling story."
-- PW
"Ross continually explores the boundaries of father-daughter intimacy, never demonizing her stepfather, but instead, humanizing him--a far more difficult task."
-- Kirkus Reviews
“If Annie Oakley had married a saint, their first born would surely have been Tracy Ross. She can mush dogs, scale mountains, save herself from horrific abuse and forgive those who have hurt her, all while building a beautiful life for herself and her family. Her courage is radical, the story of her redemption heart-stopping.”
-- Lisa Jones, author of Broken: A Love Story
"Gripping"
-- Whole Living
"The literal and figurative steps she took to confront her stepfather about their past, in the wilderness setting where he first began his abuse of her, reveal steely self-reliance and a rare capacity for forgiveness...This is not always easy reading, but Ross's steady writing supports you til the very end."
-- Library Journal
"...raw, heartbreaking..."
-- More magazine
"A brave memoir of compulsive sexual deviance, family enablement, nature’s transforming power, and exceptional fortitude."
-- Booklist
"A moving read of recovery, confrontation, and trying to comprehend forgiveness, The Source of All Things is a...reminder that all tragedy is temporary. "
-- The Midwest Book Review
"A journey of discovery, a coming of age story for a woman in her late 30s."
-- Boulder Weekly
Backpacker.com, February 22, 2012
...Backpacker Magazine – Online exclusive Contributing editor Tracy Ross talks about the aftermath of publishing her abuse memoir, The Source of All Things, which originated as a BACKPACKER feature story and is now available in paperback. ...
Colorado Daily, March 14, 2011
...wilderness to heal Posted: 03/14/2011 09:42:04 AM MDT If you go What: Book signing for "The Source of All Things" Where: Boulder Bookstore, 1107 Pearl St. I n "The Source of All Things," wilderness is refuge. I poured through this memoir -- ...
Denver Post, March 10, 2011
...abuse in "The Source fo All Things: A Memoir." (Presented by Julia Vandenoever) if(requestedWidth 0)} Tracy Ross hopes her third child, due in August, will be the daughter to whom she can give all the things her parents didn't give her ...
Womens Adventure Magazine, March 2, 2011
...Tracy Ross’ story of sexual abuse is turning heads. It’s a must read. This former staff editor at Skiing and Backpacker magazines hopes readers not only get a realistic look ...
Womens Adventure Magazine, March 2, 2011
...The Source of All Things: A Memoir By Tracy Ross She was a toddler who lost her father, then an eight-year-old sexually abused by her stepfather, then a teenager pulled between a ...
