Morning Is Always Nigh: A Colorado Boyhood - Softcover

Morning Is Always Nigh is a father/son collaboration. John, the elder Wickersham, teaches philosophy at Maryville University in St. Louis Missouri. In addition to his teaching, John is a documentary photographer and poet. A father of four and grandfather of five, some of John's happiest memories are of his boyhood in the Colorado Rockies, which he shares in this book. Jamie Wickersham grew up in St. Louis and attended Knox College on an art scholarship. He has lived in Colorado for most of his adult life. Jamie has worked as a fly-fishing guide, gear store manager, bartender, and naturalist. He currently resides in the southwestern town of Durango. He can often be found stalking cutthroat trout in the San Juan Mountains. 

"In Morning Is Always Nigh, John Wickersham has described a childhood full of beauty and wonder where common experiences are elevated to adventures, and the mundane becomes an opportunity for learning and growth. There is such a sweetness about the story and its characters, and Wickersham's love of the land is evident on every page. The writing is erudite yet accessible, nostalgic without being over-sentimental, accurate and engaging. It is the work of someone who knows and loves the West, and is a marvelous read for anyone who enjoys tracking a boy's journey from childish curiosity to wisdom." ~Richard Opper, Director, Montana Department of Health and Human Services~

Morning Is Always Nigh is a lyrical evocation of a free-range childhood in 1950's Colorado as experienced by the Gray kids, Danny, Mary, and John. The Colorado mountains, with their wildlife and abandoned mining camps, are as much characters as the three kids and their parents, providing moments of transcendent beauty and hair-raising danger in equal measure. This should find a place on the bookshelf alongside Norman Mclean's A River Runs Through It and Annie Dillard's An American Childhood. ~David Murray, Senior Writer, Waterways Journal~

"As a philosopher, naturalist, photographer, and now a novelist, John Wickersham is unmatched in his ability to communicate the luminous, sacramental nature of the world. This talent is on display in Morning Is Always Nigh, a true delight." ~G. Tracy Mehan, III, former Assistant Administrator for Water, US EPA~