THE ULTIMATE ILLINOIS BUCKET LIST BOOK!
The Story of A Man, A Family, a Generation, & a Science Not Well Understood
It’s an honor to have written the biography of David Johnston, who hailed from Oak Lawn, Illinois, and found his way to volcanoes when the science was about to explode with knowledge. David was a young volcanologist when Mount St. Helens ended its 123-year dormant period in 1980. When the volcano blew, he was on a ridge northwest of the mountain’s summit and was killed. This book tells the story of the Illinois boy who heard sonic booms at 14 (daily reminders of the Cold War), and at 15, saw Vietnam in his future. The world has heard of Dr. Johnston the scientist, but few have heard about the 30 years that came first. Unsung heroes walk among us each day. David was one of many heroes in spring 1980. And he was one of 57 who died as a result of the eruption. University of Illinois Press, with its stellar peer review process, was the best publisher for this book, which comes highly recommended by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, plus recommended by the American Library Association’s Choice Reviews. If you've visited Mount St. Helens, you've likely stood at the Johnston Ridge Observatory, named for David. The book is available in paperback, E-book, plus new in 2024, it is an audiobook (narrated by Jeff Renner, who was there in 1980, and wrote the Foreword).
My first book, The Female Assumption: A Mother's Story, Freeing Women from the View that Motherhood is a Mandate--which won a 2014 Global Media Award from the Population Institute--shines a light on the importance of our words and assumptions. Not all women want or are able to achieve motherhood. Yet there are many paths to a fulfilled female experience, and many aspects of deep, meaningful love. This book is one part autobiographical; one part biographical in terms of women's experiences (both those with and without children); and one part deep research into women's history. Its audience is every female, and every person who speaks with females about their lives.