My daughter Lana was just a few months old when I was finishing up the manuscript of Mountainous. Every week I delighted in her new developments, and every week I mourned the loss of who she was the week before. I’ve often heard other parents marvel at watching their children grow and develop, but experiencing it myself has been the most unexpected adventure.

It’s a different kind of adventure than the type I’ve been chasing for the past decade: the snowy and rocky type. I’ve eagerly measured my own growth in horizontal miles and vertical feet, but also in physical and mental strength. Sometimes this progression was explosive, and sometimes it stagnated or grew only in spurts. It only took me a year to learn how to rock climb, but it took me five more to manage my fear of falling. Read More from “Nature of Writing: Creative Process for “Mountainous””