For Everything There is a Season: Stories From the Porch

By Allen C Crater

Welcome to For Everything There is a Season, the follow-up to my first book, Outside in Shorts.

Outside in Shorts commemorated a select handful of life experiences that lived on to become the fabric of traditions - mementos of victories and vestiges of failures. An homage to pleasures and pains, fears and frustrations, trials and triumphs. The ones we taste in a cup of coffee poured before a winter trek in the big woods, and smell in the first, fresh days of spring. Those we hear in the soft chuckle of a summer river and see in the silent sip of trout or the staunch point of a seasoned dog. The ones we wear like a trusty old flannel beside a campfire, where they become tall tales, or even legends, celebrating our common bond with wild places and each other.

This writing aims to do the same. Inside you will find a fresh collection of twenty-three sporting essays gathered over nearly five decades in the outdoors. Each passage within represents a short segment of time from that lengthy measure. Each a small memento plucked from the hourglass sands of seminal experiences.

I hope you'll enjoy our time together on the metaphorical "porch" - that uniquely American symbol of gathering. The "transitional space between the cocoon of home and the cacophony of the outside world," as NPR's Michele Norris so eloquently described it. Where embellishments as thick Mississippi mud and as deep as an old well are not only forgiven with a knowing nod, but as expected as rain on the opener.

Praise for For Everything There is a Season

"Crater's writing is profound and heartfelt filled with poetic prose and vivid imagery. His essays are derived from nearly five decades of outdoor experiences ranging from hunting and fishing to camping. They are not only personal anecdotes but also broader metaphors for life's uncertainties and rewards, urging readers to savor every moment, and draw inspiration from the cycles of nature. The book feels like a conversation with a trusted friend."
- Fly Fusion Magazine

"...stories that hit all the key themes-family, fishing, places, seasons, weather, humor, sadness, victory, failure-but most importantly, respect. Those who feel a special connection to Michigan will get it especially. Crater knows his stuff and you can tell his boots are wet more often than not. You'll also find the humility in his writing voice to be refreshing."
- Trout Unlimited, Trout Magazine

"Author, outdoorsman, and Strung contributor Allen Crater's second book is a collection of short stories and essays that run the gamut from fly fishing to hunting, filled with themes that transcend the sporting genre. A handful have run in the pages of Strung. They'll have you laughing, crying, and reflecting on moments from your own time outdoors. It's the perfect book for winter reading and a great gift for any outdoors enthusiast."
- Strung Sporting Journal

"Allen Crater takes us through the seasons of the year as an outdoorsman. From tales backpacking and traveling by water to foraging, Crater's book is filled with familiar stories outdoorsmen hold dearly. This book rests well in the hands of avid anglers and hunters or anyone who revels in the flavor of each season."
- Michael Salomone, Vail Daily

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0DHCPQF9B
• ISBN13: 9798338331767
• Release Date: September 2024
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 246 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.5"