Rating: 
Summary: Under Cottonwoods - Will Change Your Life
Review: Under Cottonwoods by Stephen GraceMr. Grace's uncanny understanding of the psyche of persons with disabilities is exact and to the point. Although his life has be fraught with a myriad of experiences from hitch hiking through Africa to traveling aboard a ocean board freighter it is the time he has spent as a direct care professional with persons with disabilities that have given him the insight to write this book. Under Cottonwoods is the reason people still read! As a third generation Wyomingite, who has worked every job possible with persons with disabilities in the last 30 years, I find that Stephen Grace's writings find my passion for this work and the soul of the person who truly is one with these folks with disabilities. Through the eyes of the books protagonists Walter and Mitch, Grace walks you through the lives of these amazing citizens in the outdoor world of Wyoming to a better understanding of yourself. As it has been said that life is about relationships and the one between Walter and Michael that is developed in the book is about love and respect, friendship and advocacy. You don't find yourself feeling sorry for Walter with the severe brain injury but his father, Lex, for his lack of understanding of himself, and Walter's social worker for her lack of understanding of human kind. Stephen Grace's style of writing more than captures the wild and wooly Wyoming lifestyle but all of its nuances as well. The way he explains the winds, stars, skies and streams, has the reader lusting for the experience with Michael and Walter. You want to be there with them fly fishing the hidden backwoods streams of Wyoming. Under Cottonwoods is one of the most riveting books I have ever read. To read and feel the lives of the characters in this book will leave you yearning for more and yet satisfied that you have gotten to go on this mystical journey. My life will never be the same again. John Holderegger
President/CEO/Founder
Mountain Regional Service, Inc.
A Program Serving Persons with Disabilities in Wyoming
Rating:
Summary: Under Cottonwoods - Will Change Your Life
Review: Under Cottonwoods by Stephen Grace Mr. Grace's uncanny understanding of the psyche of persons with disabilities is exact and to the point. Although his life has be fraught with a myriad of experiences from hitch hiking through Africa to traveling aboard a ocean board freighter it is the time he has spent as a direct care professional with persons with disabilities that have given him the insight to write this book. Under Cottonwoods is the reason people still read! As a third generation Wyomingite, who has worked every job possible with persons with disabilities in the last 30 years, I find that Stephen Grace's writings find my passion for this work and the soul of the person who truly is one with these folks with disabilities. Through the eyes of the books protagonists Walter and Mitch, Grace walks you through the lives of these amazing citizens in the outdoor world of Wyoming to a better understanding of yourself. As it has been said that life is about relationships and the one between Walter and Michael that is developed in the book is about love and respect, friendship and advocacy. You don't find yourself feeling sorry for Walter with the severe brain injury but his father, Lex, for his lack of understanding of himself, and Walter's social worker for her lack of understanding of human kind. Stephen Grace's style of writing more than captures the wild and wooly Wyoming lifestyle but all of its nuances as well. The way he explains the winds, stars, skies and streams, has the reader lusting for the experience with Michael and Walter. You want to be there with them fly fishing the hidden backwoods streams of Wyoming. Under Cottonwoods is one of the most riveting books I have ever read. To read and feel the lives of the characters in this book will leave you yearning for more and yet satisfied that you have gotten to go on this mystical journey. My life will never be the same again. John Holderegger
President/CEO/Founder
Mountain Regional Service, Inc.
A Program Serving Persons with Disabilities in Wyoming
Rating:
Summary: The Grace of Being Under Cottonwoods
Review: Under Cottonwoods is a free flowing adventure of emotion and self discovery. At first glance this novel appears to be an easy read, and in that respect it does not disappoint. However, the complexity of Under Cottonwoods can be best described as a deep flowing river. There is the blatant and obvious surface story of Mike and Walter's interaction, and then there are deeper implied undercurrents of storyline that move along and drive the men's relationship.
At times the novel elicited laughter-at other times I was moved to the point of tears. Grace has managed to take two broken men and drive them through a life of extraordinary simplicity. Mike and Walter are more than characters. They are both the story and the plot. Mike and Walter, and thus the story, flow from one interaction to the next. Grace's first published effort is a delightful exercise in character development.
Told through the eyes of Mike, Under Cottonwoods follows two men as they come to terms with the lives they lead. Mike is an emotionally crippled man struggling with his marriage, while Walter battles with his very existence and the memory of what he used to be. Mike and Walter are close friends, not as a result of their individual handicaps, but because of them.
Grace does an excellent job of using the characters and their flaws as a vehicle for which to drive the plot. "I wasn't trying to kill myself, I was just trying to live." Through Walter's simple statement, Grace is attempting to define the point in life when nothing matters except the here and now. Walter's simple mental handicap is brought on by a childhood tragedy, while Mike's is an emotional scar brought on by his own inability to deal with reality. In some ways Mike is more of a cripple than Walter.
More than anything else in life, our decisions shape who we are. This is the premise behind Stephen Grace's first novel Under Cottonwoods. Grace uses two broken men, a three legged dog, and a small vibrant cast of characters to illustrate this point.
Overall Under Cottonwoods is a poignant story about life and the unexpected turns experienced in an otherwise expected life.
Rating:
Summary: Nature and Life
Review: Under Cottonwoods is a story which captures the reader's heart as the relationship among the major characters develops. Through vivid, beautiful and unique use of words, Stephen Grace describes nature with its intricacies and extremities and life with its tragedies, mountain-top experiences and variety of interactions. Major life lessons can be extracted from the poetic words of the book. This is a novel which exposes the richness of the environment and the power of caring individuals as they grow and mature.
Rating:
Summary: Nature and Life
Review: Under Cottonwoods is a story which captures the reader's heart as the relationship among the major characters develops. Through vivid, beautiful and unique use of words, Stephen Grace describes nature with its intricacies and extremities and life with its tragedies, mountain-top experiences and variety of interactions. Major life lessons can be extracted from the poetic words of the book. This is a novel which exposes the richness of the environment and the power of caring individuals as they grow and mature.
Rating:
Summary: Under Cottonwoods Feeds the Soul
Review: Under Cottonwoods is an amazing tale of friendship set against the beautifully described backdrop of the Wyoming landscape. Stephen Grace paints pictures with his words so vividly you can see the people and places come to life. The story compels you to turn each page as through Mike and Walter we see our selves, our family, our friends. Walter is more like you and I than he is different and this is the beauty of this book. Under Cottonwoods is enthralling as novel that also holds great promise as a catalyst for social change by clearly depicting Walter as a person first and his disability second. It is through our human commonalities that community is built. Under Cottonwoods weaves the thread of humanity that connects us all.
Rating:
Summary: Let's breakdown attitudinal barriers!
Review: What an amazing story! Let Stephen Grace be your guide on a journey of discovery. You will hike into pristine wilderness areas and stand at the banks of very beautiful rivers in the Tetons of Wyoming. You will also grow with the characters and understand how much people with disabilities can teach all of us. This book may assist in the breakdown of attitudinal barriers that can be more obstructive than a stairway. Your eyes will be opened! A must read for anyone who has a friend or family member with a disability and people working in the field.
Rating:
Summary: Let's breakdown attitudinal barriers!
Review: What an amazing story! Let Stephen Grace be your guide on a journey of discovery. You will hike into pristine wilderness areas and stand at the banks of very beautiful rivers in the Tetons of Wyoming. You will also grow with the characters and understand how much people with disabilities can teach all of us. This book may assist in the breakdown of attitudinal barriers that can be more obstructive than a stairway. Your eyes will be opened! A must read for anyone who has a friend or family member with a disability and people working in the field.
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