Saving the Lake

This book was important to me since I summer on the lake that is in this story, and gave me a valuable history piece that I did not know. While I did not know the author, I knew her father. It went through how we got clarity testing done on our association's lakes, which are still done. It brought to life an era that was about 20 years before my time on that lake. This was the precursor the invasive species both aquatic and terrestrial committees that have since evolved which also that the job of trying to "save the lake." So this book was very valuable to me because of my ties to Duck Lake in Langlade county, WI. Whether it would be of much value to someone with no such ties might be questionable.

What could have been a narrowly focused family memoir is a skillfully layered journey of fond remanences of the idyllic 1950s family spending summers at “their” lake in upstate Wisconsin, a delve into the fragile ecology of the region, and surprisingly, a journey through the processing of grief that is inevitable when we have the privilege of a long, fulfilling life. Sarah Ainsworth Powley’s “Saving the Lake” is a pleasure to read.Sarah teaches us how the lake, the surrounding north woods with its wildlife, and the human factors are intertwined in ways the casual observer misses. She educates and illustrates with an easy reading narrative that is never heavy on the technical jargon.At the same time, we follow her family’s annual pilgrimage to the lakeside home where the days where the days were measured by how many fish were caught, how far one could hike, or the challenge of swimming across the lake. It wasn’t life “off the grid” but certainly on the far corner of itInevitably, the story comes to a poignant close with the death of her father which forces her mother with few options but to sell the home that has sheltered two generations. Grief is doubled. Sarah shows life is best lived looking forward by embracing the fond memories, giving thanks for the lessons learned from lake and family.

Enjoyed the story.