Kathleen Meyer

Kathleen Meyer
Occupation	Nature writer, environmental writer
Nationality	American
Period	1989—
Genres	non-fiction;memoir
Notable work(s)	How To Shit in the Woods (1989) Barefoot Hearted (1994)

Kathleen Meyer (born 7 December 1942) is a contemporary American nature writer^[1] whose first work, How To Shit in the Woods was published in 1989 and is frequently cited in other books, especially those aimed at long-range hikers and primitive campers.^[2] Her writing is characterized by the use of humor and irreverence. She has only two published works in print: How to Shit in the Woods and Barefoot Hearted.

How to Shit in the Woods

How to Shit in the Woods was published by Ten Speed Press in 1989. This first book by Meyer does, indeed, revolve around the many strategies she has noticed for defecating where there is no modern toilet and running water. As one reads the book, it quickly becomes obvious that Meyer's concern is not so much for the comfort of the camper or hiker, but for the impact that human waste leaves on pristine natural ecosystems. She talks about digging "environmentally sound" holes, locating the high water line, so as not to inadvertently pollute a stream or ground water source, and what types of soil facilitate quickest decomposition without risk of environmental contamination. The damage to humans and wildlife from carelessly disposed human waste comes in many forms including giardia, diarrhea, and intestinal diseases.^[3] A second edition of the book was issued in 1994 and a third edition in 2011.^[4] Meyer holds humans uniquely responsible for the spread of giardia in the wilderness areas of the United States: "Until 1970, there were no reports in the United States of waterborne outbreaks of giardia. The first . . . occurred in Aspen, Colorado, in 1970. Over the next four years, many cases were documented in travelers returning from . . . Leningrad . . . The Soviet Union became more open to visitation by Westerners at about this time and Leningrad's municipal water supply was full of Giardia cysts."^[5]

In its various editions, the book has been positively reviewed by Audubon Magazine,^[6] The New Zealand Dominion Post,^{[Lexis Nexis 1]} and The Globe and Mail^{[Lexis Nexis 2]} Audubon magazine writer Frank Graham wrote “Kathleen Meyer has contributed to environmental awareness while lending a grand old English word the respectability it hasn’t had since Chaucer’s day.”^[7]

In 2006 Meyer wrote the introduction to a volume by Jane Wilson-Howarth on a parallel topic which also dares to use the S word.^[8]

Barefoot-Hearted

In Barefoot-Hearted, published by Random House in 2001, Meyer writes about renovating a dilapidated barn in which to live with her new boyfriend. Her book explores the many adversities of trying to live in a barn, not the least of which is how the smell of resident skunks under the floor permeates and resides in her clothes and hair and how the barn is infested with flies and mice. In the manner of nature writers who often use a small animal or plant as a symbol of an ecological principle, Meyer explains that she doesn't feel guilty about trapping and killing mice, because they are abundant and their population ever growing. By contrast, she notes the comparative frailty of bears who often stumble upon human habitations looking for food. When the humans get scared, the bear is often removed and killed. In the same book, Meyer also chronicles her adventure riding a horse and buggy across a large region of northwest America. Barefoot Hearted was widely reviewed, though not always with great affection. Kirkus Reviews found it an "annoying saga about a house full of pests."^[9] The book got good reviews, however, from Booklist, Library Journal and Publishers Weekly.^[10] A BookPage review describes Barefoot Hearted favorably compares the book to the writings of Edward Abbey, noting "You might think of flies, mice and bats as vermin, but through close observations of these intruders and much scientific and anecdotal research, Meyer turns her life with these critters into a complex treatise on man's often unconscious inhumanity to wildlife. 'Who is the real intruder here?' Meyer frequently asks.^[11]

References

Notes retrieved through Lexis Nexis

Persondata
Name	Meyer, Kathleen
Alternative names
Short description	American nature writer
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death