Where the Wind Dreams of Staying: Searching for Purpose and Place in the West

By Eric Dieterle. Oregon State University Press: Corvallis, OR, 2016.

Eric Dieterle’s memoir Where the Wind Dreams of Staying captures the emotional storms of a boy, and then a man, who seeks meaning in a place, or a place with meaning. His restless search for purpose and identity in the American West moves through cycles of success and failure, love and loss.

Dieterle’s journey leads from the plateaus of eastern Washington through the landscapes of seven states, ending in the shadow of the San Francisco peaks in northern Arizona. In a series of interwoven essays, readers will find rich, detailed explorations of western landscapes, balanced with stories of personal reflection, determination, doubt, and fulfillment. Along the way, Dieterle grapples with anxiety and depression, substance abuse, and failed relationships. The interior life of the author is tightly bound to the external landscapes, ecosystems, and ecologies, so that person and place become lost in one another.

Ultimately a story of resilience, Where the Wind Dreams of Staying is a lyrical tribute to the richly varied landscapes and lifestyles of the inland West. It will be welcomed by readers of environmental literature and personal memoir, and anyone who has struggled against the odds in pursuit of a balanced life.