Never Enough Time Looking Back on Where It Went

This book is a journey—a reminiscence of Nancy Dean’s adventures. In Parts One and Two, she travels from a laid-back southern town in Alabama through awe-inspiring wilderness in the western states with two young sons and a husband determined to conquer every mountain along the way. Ancient desert ruins, verdant rain forests, horned lizards and scorpions, beautiful wildflower meadows, a bone-aching mule ride, hidden mountain lakes, an eight-day backpack across snow and lava, frustrating mechanical breakdowns, breathtaking mountaintop views, unanticipated thunder storms, curious mountain goats, and a stomach virus that won’t quit—her memoir captures all the highs and lows. Her next challenge, described in Part Three, is surviving whitewater canoeing lessons, as she turns fear into bravado. In Part 4, she accompanies a mission group to Mexico, doing manual labor with humble families who, in spite of the language barrier, unstintingly share their love and courageous faith. Never Enough Time is replete with nature lore, humor, insight, and occasional drama.

Nancy Dean has three passions—writing, gardening, and the natural world. She started her writing career as a free lancer, typing nonfiction articles at home to ward off toddler tedium. She had modest success, including selling several pieces to Organic Gardening and an article about fire ants to National Wildlife that was picked up by Germany’s Das Tier. With her boys in school, Nancy eventually settled into a reporter’s job at her city’s community newspaper that lasted 20 years. Her many feature stories on nature-related topics earned her the W. Kelly Mosley Environmental Award for Achievements in Forestry, Wildlife and Related Resources. During those years, Nancy also gardened nonstop, explored nature and wilderness at every opportunity, and became a small-fruit farmer. After retirement, she also became a grandmother. She still writes, gardens, and travels to new places between trips to visit family, but she no longer farms. A native of Cleveland, Nancy graduated summa cum laude from Cleveland State University with a major in English. She lives in Bardstown, KY, with her retired husband/small-fruit farmer/fellow traveler, Rick. Please visit www.NancyMDean.com.