Sand, Stars, Wind, & Water: Field Notes from Up North

"Some can visit a place a thousand times and never get to know it, while others go deeper, beyond the tourist lookouts and marked trails, until they’ve learned the place by heart. Tim Mulherin is one of the latter. He 'gets' northwest lower Michigan, and his book is a rich and entertaining celebration of it. –Jerry Dennis, author of The Living Great Lakes

In 2011, "Good Morning America" viewers voted Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in northwest lower Michigan the “Most Beautiful Place in America.” Long before the park was ranked as a national favorite, author Tim Mulherin began exploring the region — including Leelanau and Grand Traverse counties and other points north — as a frequent visitor. Now, in Sand, Stars, Wind, & Water: Field Notes from Up North, Mulherin tells of his love of the area and its people, and in turn encourages visitors to respect and enjoy this national treasure.

Mulherin joyfully shares his enduring, decades-long friendship with the region, born of hiking and cross-country skiing on woodland trails, dune climbing, trout fishing, sailing across Lake Michigan to camp on South Manitou and Garden islands, kayaking crystalline waters of local lakes and rivers, driving the scenic M-22 highway, and savoring downtime on Lake Michigan beaches. His essays are also a timely commentary on invasive species — both aquatic and human.
Anyone who has visited this special place — or plans to — will find Mulherin’s writing a thoughtful and amusing representation of what being “Up North” is really all about.

"To read Tim Mulherin is to be informed, entertained, and challenged. It’s rare that one book can do all that, but Sand, Stars, Wind, & Water achieves all three and more." – Philip Gulley, author of the Porch Talk and Harmony series

"Tim Mulherin takes us on a memorable walk through one of the most beautiful places in America, a place he cherishes and honors with acute observation. In telling his tales of Leelanau, he gets the biggest issue of all – the need to live with respect for the water and all living things. In accessible prose, he teaches, delights, and entertains."
– Dave Dempsey, author of The Heart of the Lakes: Freshwater in the Past, Present, and Future of Southeast Michigan

"Anyone who’s ever had a face-to-face connection with nature, or a passing interest in the Lake Michigan wilds on the Leelanau Peninsula, will relish Tim Mulherin’s Sand, Stars, Wind, & Water: Field Notes from Up North. With captivating use of word and language – and an engaging blend of personal recollections – Mulherin brings readers up close and personal with the region’s people, places, and nature, from Sleeping Bear Dunes through Leland, past Lake Leelanau to Traverse City." – Steven Higgs, author of A Guide to Natural Areas of Southern Indiana and A Guide to Natural Areas of Northern Indiana.

"In this next best thing to an actual visit, readers will find good company. Tim Mulherin’s amiable, intelligent, affectionate essays evoke the pleasure and interest to be found Up North as it is now, tourist throngs and quagga mussels notwithstanding. In Sand, Stars, Wind, & Water: Field Notes from Up North, Mulherin, a Hoosier visitor, offers a personal, intently observed collection of experiences in a place that so many, however long they may stay, do love. – Stephanie Mills, author of Tough Little Beauties and Epicurean Simplicity

"'We are born to love the planet.' So says Tim Mulherin, and I agree with him. Indulge yourself in a little Northern Michigan planet love with this vibrant collection of essays. – Heather Shumaker, author of Saving Arcadia: A Story of Conservation and Community in the Great Lakes

Tim Mulherin currently - and somewhat reluctantly - lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. Mulherin first visited northwest lower Michigan's Leelanau and Grand Traverse counties in 1986, and hasn't been the same since. Meanwhile, he's been keeping field notes of his adventures there, which resulted in this book, a tribute to the region and its people, and an encouragement for visitors to respect this national treasure. Mulherin earned a bachelor of arts degree in English, with a concentration in nonfiction writing, from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). He went on to obtain a master of arts degree in journalism from IUPUI and a master of science in management degree from Indiana Wesleyan University. He also taught for a decade in IUPUI's Department of English. For the past 15 years, he's had the privilege of working for Irvington Community School, Inc., a K-12 public charter school system on the east side of Indianapolis. Since 2008, he's served as chief operating officer and now as chief executive officer. Mulherin and his wife have owned a cabin in the village of Cedar for the past 10 years. In days to come, they will return to their home Up North- for good.