On Becoming Lost

This book is for anyone who has found solace in the forests, meadows and wilderness. Johnson sees—and conveys to the reader—that the natural world is a mentor, curative and friend. Her writing encourages us to slow down, appreciate the earth’s rich beauty, and, in the process, become found.

Being lost isn’t always a bad thing—indeed Cathy Johnson helps us see that it can be the adventure of a lifetime. In this book, the Missouri native sets out on a quest through the forests and trails of her region, searching not only for answers, but for life’s bigger and broader questions—under stones, under bark and underwater. 

“Being in possession of all the answers holds no appeal at all, but owning a good pocketful of unanswered questions is to me like bread to the starving,” Johnson writes.

An accomplished artist, Johnson’s lovely ink drawings, add to her deeply personal writing. She mourns the careless destruction of wild lands and the deaths of her father and a friend, while also weaving in scientific discussion as she explores seasonal depression, the chaos theory, and more. 

Johnson sees small, faint game paths—rather than superhighways—as connecting the major events in all our lives. While it’s easy to lose the path altogether as it traverses difficult terrain, getting lost is one of life’s greatest adventures.