156 Western American Literature in which Melissa fails to appear with any depth. Her incapacity for wilderness is linked to her vulnerability to fundamentalism, her tears and inarticulateness. As he grows in his wild delight for wilderness, her appearances wither away alto gether. Leo’s prose is straightforward and spare, and there is no braggadocio in his accounts, yet he emerges in the narrative as his own self-made Hero. He knew who he had to become in order to be a hero to himself, and he did not waver. He overcame weather, wild animals, personal sorrow, loneliness, self-doubt. He carried materials for great distances to his homestead, and built his shelter by hand. In addition, Leo took responsibility for the care of his young son. The most memorable scenes in the book are of Leo and two-year-oldJanus sledding through high wilderness in winter on extended camping trips. Each of these books is predominantly autobiography, and only subordi nate^ about wilderness. In fact, as books about wilderness, they are obscured by the dominance of single-voiced narrators who, intentionally or not, make their own psychologies the subject of the writing. However, as wilderness autobiogra phies, each has its measure of success. CROSSWHITE University of Oregon .^J^ochsa Road: A Pilgrim in the West. By Kim R. Stafford. Illustrations by Hannah Hinchman. (Lewiston, Idaho: Confluence Press, 1991. 84 pages, $20.00/$8.95.) At a time when the life Kim Stafford and his wife, a weaver, were living had become “all books and wool and sorrow,” he left home for several weeks to give readings and lectures in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. But not far into the trip the series of speaking engagements took on the characteristics of a pilgrim age, a time when those who seek healing or enlightenment distance themselves from the ordinary so they can open to the extraordinary. Lochsa Road is the extraordinary result of Stafford’s pilgrimage. Vivid lan guage carries the reader along on the author’sjourney through canyons, over mountain passes, and along streams of emotions. Careful attention to dialogue allows the reader to listen in on conversations; an encounter at an Arapaho cemetery, where graves have been vandalized, is notable: ... The woman stood still, then began to swear. She called with a wail to the children. “Come here now! Help your cousins! See what someone has done!” She did not look at me. “See what someone has felt they could do to your cousins.” She turned her back to me. “See what someone from far away who does not understand has done.” Reviews 157 And the story of Stafford’sgrowing realization that only two things matter—that he love his daughter and that he continue to live—is deeply satisfying. But the real gift Stafford brings back from his journey is not his own story, however lyrically told, but the model his story provides for those who would make their own pilgrimage. In LochsaRoadwe are reminded that images passing through the filters we usually place on our senses can be most meaningful. Recording those images and the events of our pilgrimage as they happen is important. Being open to the unexpected and to our feelings is a necessary component. In effect, this book is about the process of being a pilgrim. The illustrations generally enhance the text, although a map of Stafford’s trip contains geographical inaccuracies and several misspellings. However, these small flaws do not detract from the feeling of warmth that Hannah Hinchm an’s sketches give the book. LochsaRoad will appeal to readers who would usejourneys to discover in the land, in other people, and in themselves what they need to be healed. b o y e s Utah State University \Jt6ots and Branches: Contemporary Essays by West Coast Writers. Edited by Howard Junker. (San Francisco: Mercury House, Inc., 1991. 287 pages, $10.95.) The essays and illustrations in Roots and Branches are collected from the literary magazine ZYZZYVA: A Quarterly of West Coast Writers and Artists, which according to Editor Howard Junker aspires to “publish the full spectrum of writing, both mainstream and experimental.” The “roots” section of the metaphorical tree establishes the multicultural heritage characteristic...