A gift to the giver

Ghosts and Gold: My Story of Ghost Ranch is not primarily about me or what I have done at Ghost Ranch. It is about Ghost Ranch itself, as I have experienced and come to know it personally. It is, I suppose, an example of creative nonfiction, that writing genre that channels factual information through an admittedly subjective lens.

I took part in my first writing workshop at Ghost Ranch (or anywhere else, for that matter) in the spring of 1999, during one week of a greatly-appreciated three-month sabbatical from my pastoral responsibilities at the Church of the Western Reserve. Ina Hughes was our group’s convener and mentor. I could not have chosen a better person than Ina to lead a workshop in creative nonfiction.

That week changed my life in many ways. After years of writing to satisfy the expectations others — teachers, congregations, God (?) — I was suddenly freed-up to write to fulfill my own expectations. Ina and the class encouraged me to think I might have some aptitude for such writing. I’ve worked at developing that aptitude, though not consistently.

Several years ago I began to write short stories. I started my first, The Owl, at another writing festival at Ghost Ranch, I think in 2013. Writing workshops I’ve done closer to home have all been helpful…but none like the ones at Ghost Ranch’s writing festivals, because of the place, because of the people.

Thus, the emotional drive behind Ghosts and Gold. Ghost Ranch has given me so much, and I want to return something to it. That is why I will give all of the net proceeds of the book’s sale to the ranch. (I am absorbing all costs associated with getting it edited, designed, and printed.) I do not expect my monetary gift to amount to much, but maybe the book will encourage people to come to Ghost Ranch themselves. That may be worth far more.

Right now, Ghost Ranch, like so many other places, is closed to the public. They are hoping to be able to offer at least a partial summer schedule. It is likely to be a difficult year for the ranch in almost every way, and it is not the kind of summer for introducing Ghosts and Gold I had envisioned. But maybe it will help fill a need for those who love the ranch and will not be able to visit it in person in 2020. Maybe the timing is better than I’d hoped.