Reading the Water

Starred review from May 30, 2022
Journalist Hume (Trout School) recalls how he fell in love with nature as a child and how he passed that love to his daughters in this charming memoir. Born in British Columbia to a busy editor father and a mother distracted by “children running everywhere, a garden to tend, chickens to feed, and a goat to milk,” Hume recalls venturing into the wilderness with his brothers and being entranced by a creek. He eventually taught himself fly-fishing, a sport he describes throughout in illuminating detail. He also traces his marriage to his wife Maggie, a fellow journalist he met in a newsroom. The couple had two daughters, who he successfully passed a love of fishing onto; the girls became skilled fly-fishers, as well as devotees of nature, one working in environmental policy and the other as a lawyer “representing Indigenous communities fighting for environmental reparation.” Throughout, Hume excels at evoking the natural world and movingly describes his horror at the devastation humans are causing: “In my short lifetime I have seen great rivers dammed, entire forests clearcut.... And yet here on the water, reaching down to touch a cold-blooded fish, I have always found hope.” The result is an invigorating look at the power of the outdoors.

Starred review from February 15, 2022
A father shares the joys of fly-fishing with his daughters. In this eloquent memoir, journalist Hume captures his passion for the sport, which he has enjoyed for 50 years, and gratification in passing it on to his daughters. Growing up in British Columbia, he was captivated by nature and wildlife, fish in particular. A self-taught fisherman, Hume first caught trout by hand in his "home waters" of Penticton Creek before learning to fish with a rod. Soon, he escaped to the water at every opportunity. As a result of his family's frequent moves, "I had begun to calibrate my life in relation to my access to water." Seeking a stronger connection to the natural world led him to fly-fishing, and at the same time, he became aware of the countless dangers facing the natural world. In his attempt to be a better environmental steward, he employed the practice of catch and release, noting the significant moment when he "learned how to let fish go." Throughout, Hume explores angling history and some of the ethical considerations involved as well as individuals who have guided and inspired him. Eventually, he found a partner who shared his love of the outdoors, and they started a family. As his two daughters grew older, Hume recalls, he was forced to acknowledge his own mortality, and he wanted to make sure he bequeathed his knowledge. "From the start as I guided my daughters toward a fly fishing life," he writes, "I hoped they would grasp the meditative nature of the sport." Hume vividly conveys the sensory details of their adventures and the stunning surroundings where his daughters learned the trade, held dragonflies, collected hawk feathers, "watched bears chase spawning salmon" and "loons swim under our canoe, dark, fibrillating shadows suddenly there, then gone in a ripple of water." A heartfelt, beautifully written celebration of the wonders of nature and comfort of family.

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