Uphill Books Author Event
In celebration of the new book, Encountering Dragonfly
A conversation between author Brooke WIlliams and longtime partner, Terry Tempest Williams
Finnriver Farm and Cidery
Chimacum, WA
April 26th 2:00 pm.

The Necessity of Enchantment
This afternoon event will feature Brooke Williams, author of the newly released book, Encountering Dragonfly: Notes on the Practice of Re-enchantment, in conversation with his longtime partner, the writer Terry Tempest Williams. They’ll talk about the importance of an ensouled, enchanted relationship with the natural world—to us individually, and also to our species and to the planet. The conversation will be followed by a Q and A with the audience and a booksigning.
Come early for lunch and a walk around the farm and orchard, or stay afterwards for cider, dinner, and Finnriver’s live music starting at 5:00pm.
Tickets: $10, or $25 including a copy of Encountering Dragonfly
Walk-ins $10, subject to availability.
About Encountering Dragonfly
Book Details
Publication Date: April 8th, 2025
Paperback 5-1/2″× 8-1/2″ 224 pages
$18.95 USD
“Imagine dragonflies are the center of this universe, connected to countless beings in countless realms, all linked together by a dream that turns out not to be a dream.”—Red Pine
Two decades ago, naturalist and environmental writer Brooke Williams had a powerful dream about a dragonfly, a dream that cracked open his world by giving rise to a steady stream of dragonfly encounters in his waking life. In the years since, he has delved deeply into the fascinating biology and natural history of dragonflies and made pilgrimages to see them (he now has 38 species on his life list) while also exploring their symbolic meaning and cultural significance.
Encountering Dragonfly is his account—related in a series of odonate encounters—of being drawn into a different kind of relationship with the natural world. By opening himself to the personal and mytho-poetic meanings of dragonfly, and patiently courting an understanding of these creatures that is built upon, but also transcends, a naturalist’s observation, Brooke has come to believe in the importance of ‘re-enchantment.’
Many cultures believe dragonflies move between the inner and outer worlds, carrying messages. Their message for Brooke has been to ask questions—about synchronicity, awe, the collective unconscious, and how to engage with a world increasingly out of balance. Those questions are the core of Encountering Dragonfly. What are the implications of following a path toward greater enchantment? Can we afford to choose such a path right now, when we urgently need to engage with the political, social, scientific realities of the climate crisis and environmental destruction?
And can we afford not to?
About the Presenters
Brooke Williams has spent the last forty years advocating for wilderness and has served on the board of multiple environmental organizations including Western Environmental Legal Center, Center for Humans and Nature, and Utah Rivers Council. His writing about evolution, consciousness, and his own adventures exploring both the inner and outer wilderness has appeared in Orion, Outside, Huffington Post, and numerous other publications, and has been anthologized in Best American Essays. Brooke’s previous books include Open Midnight: Where Wilderness and Ancestors Meet (Trinity University Press, 2017) and Mary Jane Wild: Two Walks and a Rant (Homebound Publications, 2020). He lives with the writer, Terry Tempest Williams, and two cats near Moab, Utah, where they watch light and wait for rain.
Terry Tempest Williams is a writer, educator, conservationist, and activist. She has testified before the US Congress on women’s health issues, been a guest at the White House, and worked as “a barefoot artist” in Rwanda. She is the author of numerous books, including the environmental literature classic, Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place. Williams’ writing is rooted in the American West and focuses on social and environmental justice ranging from issues of ecology and the protection of public lands and wildness, to women’s health, to exploring humanity’s relationship to culture and nature. Her writing has also appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Orion Magazine, as a crucial voice for ecological consciousness and social change.
About Finnriver Farm and Cidery
Finnriver is an organic farm, orchard and craft cidery located along a salmon stream in the Chimacum Valley on the north Olympic Peninsula of Washington— the traditional and contemporary territories of the S’Klallam (Nəxʷsƛ̕áy̕əm̕) and the Chemakum (Aqokúlo or Čə́məq̓əm).
They grow and source organic, wild harvested, and seasonal ingredients to help grow a vibrant regional community food system. They also seek to create deep-rooted and fruitful connections at their farm-based gathering space at their Cider Garden, open year-round with cider on draft, seasonal tours and tastings, live music, local food, seasonal events and celebrations.
Over the 15 years since they started farming in this community, multiple branches of the Finnriver family tree have sprouted. Finnriver Farm and Cidery grows, sources and ferments organic apples and pears into a line of farmcrafted hard ciders and fruit wines. Chimacum Valley Grainery grows and mills organic grains and produces local flours, pastas, and baked goods. And Stellar J Farms, located at the original home farm, grows organic fruit and veggies.
Their mission is to celebrate the beauty and bounty of the earth, to reconnect people to the land that sustains us and to grow community!