Out There: Dispatches from My Personal Wilderness - Paperback

by Lance Garland (Author)

Out There recounts one man's search to lead an authentic life, an adventure that takes him all over the world and through some of the biggest societal changes of recent history. From a distance, this could be a typical American story: boy grows up in a religious home, joins the military to defend his country, returns home to attend university, then becomes a firefighter. That would be typical if it weren't for the fact that he's gay and was open in places that historically excluded people like him.

As a nineteen-year-old from a fundamentalist family, Lance Garland worked hard to qualify for Navy SEAL training, then sailed across the Pacific on a warship where he met his first boyfriend. After his partner was sexually assaulted by a superior, the two men became witnesses in a court-martial that was complicated by the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. After he was discharged from the Navy, Garland discovered time in nature as a way to heal from the experiences of his youth. While sailing, backpacking, and climbing in the Pacific Northwest, he navigates the challenges of becoming a first-generation college student, equal rights activist, and the first openly gay fireman in the Seattle fire department.

Out There is a memoir of a man out in the wilderness, both physically and socially, on a journey to find a place to call his own. It is for anyone who has felt like an outsider or hasn't found their place yet.

Author Biography

Lance Garland is a veteran, firefighter, nature adventurer, and writer. His work has appeared in Outside, Travel & Leisure, Backpacker, Orion, and elsewhere. His honors include the Pathfinder Prize, a fellowship at the Banff Center's Mountain Writing Residency, and a Catalyst grant from the American Alpine Club. He lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington.