Forest Time

"With an ear for irony and human folly, Lloyd acts as a trail guide for readers who may have no experience in our national parks while able at the same time to provoke wonder and intrigue in even the most seasoned wilderness explorer.”

–Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, author of Even As We Breathe 

In his twenties, broke, brokenhearted, and fearful about the future, Jeremy Lloyd stumbled into a job that would change his life. More than two decades later, still an educator at Tremont in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Lloyd recounts his journey as a teacher and student of the great outdoors in Forest Time: Footnotes to an Education Outdoors. Blending natural history, daring—and sometimes foolish—adventure, and spiritual balm for a world suffering from widespread disconnection from nature, Forest Time is equal parts personal, educational, and existential. Lloyd’s stories about his work as an educator at an overnight nature center are filled with humility and conviction, examining his relationships to the forests, mountains, and rivers he calls home.

Wrestling with the intersections between the wild natural landscape, high-volume tourism, and the national park system, Lloyd’s explorations are born from his extensive experience and personal relationship with the park. His voice and candor are as refreshing and distinctive as the natural environment he writes about, reminding readers that the mountains are not only national treasures but also a remedy for modernity’s errors and a cultural malaise fixated on material gain and ultimate safety and comfort. Vulnerable, hilarious, and widely accessible, Forest Time fits appropriately on shelves beside the works of Edward Abbey, Annie Dillard, and Kevin Fedarko.