No One Left Behind

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An Unexpected Educational Adventure at Machu Picchu

Deb Pitton

$17.95 – Purchase a print copy online.

Professor Deb Pitton led a group of education and healthcare students to Peru and Machu Picchu in 2010. When rain swelled the mountain rivers, flooding downstream villages, the group was trapped and struggled to remain together waiting to be evacuated.

No One Left Behind, Deb Pitton’s personal account of what was to become a legendary study abroad trip is filled with humor and honesty. She spares no detail when it comes to describing the rewards and challenges of traveling with a group of college students who are seeing (most of them for the first time) a less privileged side of life. Those revelations, which are often noticed and appreciated by Pitton as she describes an event or interaction, form one of the recurring themes of the book. Another emergent theme has to do with the power of nature and how it can disrupt one’s best laid plans; readers who remember the news stories about the Gustavus Professors and students stranded in the mountains of Peru will perhaps share my amazement as the extent of the ordeal is unveiled. Deb does a wonderful job of detailing the many ways she and her co-leader, Mary Solberg, had to improvise, consult, and make immediate—sometimes scary—decisions. Anyone considering leading a group on a study-abroad trip would do well to read No One Left Behind, but perhaps—as the title suggests—the most important idea we are left with is that we all need to look out for each other and stick together—a goal that seems particularly relevant to the times.

—Joyce Sutphen, Minnesota Poet Laureate

Deb Pitton, Machu Picchu 2010.

Shamu, Splash & Solemn – Carole Stoa Senn

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Emilio DeGrazia – Anne Gerber – Carole Stoa Senn

A riveting look of the creative writing and writing life of  Carole Stoa Senn

 

 

“Perhaps I have a need for much rougher prose or poetry than I had been anticipating. I’ve been wanting to write something jewel-like, but maybe what I want isn’t exactly the point.”  Carole Stoa Senn

“Carole’s story,” says Emilio DeGrazia in his introduction to this fascinating story, “is a necessarily fragmented account of how a talented and lovely young life was ravaged twice by violent attacks against which she had no way to defend herself.”

Amazon Reviews

Julia Schmitt writes: A story you need to read. Carole’s story is touching and inspirational. The structure of the book offers a multifaceted perspective on the incredible events of her life. An outstanding read.

Sixty-one

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Larry Johnson

$17.95 – Buy a print copy online

   Drafted during the Vietnam era, Larry Johnson filed for conscientious objector status and served as an Army medic in Germany, carrying no weapons. The life-long peace activist from Golden Valley, Minnesota, answered JFK’s call in 1961 and hiked 50 miles. At age 61, he hiked 61 miles down Highway 61 with his grandson Tyler. To commemorate his 70th birthday, Larry completed a 70 mile hike.

Amazon Reviews—

Andy of Minnesota writes: Integrity, Compassion and Modesty. Well-written remarkable stories of some key events in the life of a man of great integrity, compassion and modesty. In these indecorous times it is encouraging to read the tales of someone who has dealt with life’s challenges in such a principled way. A must read for those now coming of age.