Nov 08 2008
Meet “The Woodswoman” – Anne LaBastille
This summer, Tom and I went on a very simple, but wonderful vacation to the Old Forge, NY area. We stayed in a cabin and browsed some quaint little shops. We swam and sat by campfires. During our week here, one of the highlights was browsing the book stores that had a lot of Adirondackbooks. I became transfixed by a series of books known as “Woodswoman” which were written by Anne LaBastille. There are four books in the series that span 35 years of her life living in the secluded Adirondack woods by herself. It should be noted that books three and four are much more difficult to find, but are well worth the search.
These books bring with them a sense of peace and independence. Her trials and tribulations in the Adirondack wooods as well as her joys and sorrows are so vividly written that sometimes you feel as if you are right there with her. As she and her various German Shepards venture through the years, you become a part of her life. As a matter of fact, you almost find yourself cheering her on.
While on vacation I spoke with several bookstore owners about Anne LaBastille and how I would have loved to have met her. All told similar tales of her being ill at this point in her life. Whether or not that is true, I do not know, but what I do know is that I am a better person for having found and read her books. If you have ever dreamed of living completely off the grid and on your own, these books will inspire you to new heights.
I can’t remember when I was first introduced to Anne’s books, but I have been deeply touched by her writings. I’ve made donations to her ecological endeavors and I have via mail received autographed copies of her four WoodsWoman series as well as personal notes from her with each one. At one site I visited I saw that she had begun work on WoodsWoman V in 2008. Do you have any information if it was completed? I didn’t know her actual age, but figured she was getting to the point she would be needing help to care for herself since her writings had begun in the 1970′s.
Thank you for your site to get as current as possible information on a lady I’ve grown to admire over the years.
Sincerely,
Diana Pope
I interviewed Anne for The Chicago Tribune in 1987 and, like many others, would like to be able to send her a note of appreciation for all she has done and for sharing her experience so generously with a wide audience. Does anyone have a current contact for her or updated information?
Thanks
Teresa Barker
Anne Labastille has advanced Alzheimers and is living in a retirement home, probably in upstate NY. (I don’t have contact info). Let’s all honor her by committing ourselves to the causes she fought for as she’s not able to fight herself for them anymore.
I am a latecomer to the wonderful world of Anne LaBastille, although my husband and I have enjoyed tramping and paddling the Adirondacks for years. Reading of her joys and heartbreaks, her expert knowledge of the natural world, her many accomplishments, her devotion to her dogs and later, Chunita, has been a wonderful experience for me. I am deeply saddened to read that Anne is possibly suffering from Alzheimers in her twilight years. Knowing personally the awful toll of that dread disease, I find it tragic that Anne has to be subjected to the robbery of her expertise, wide knowlege and proud memories in what should be her satisfying senior years. Thankfully we will have her books and writings to remember her happier times.
Hello Guru, what entice you to post an article. This article was extremely interesting, especially since I was searching for thoughts on this subject last Thursday.
hey id like to talk with you about your blog. please email me – thanks.
Hi, I enjoyed your post. I would like to know where Jane obtained her information that Anne LaBastille has Alzheimer’s? I find this to be tragic given her inspirational life dedicated to ecology and nature.
Of course, what a great site and informative posts, I will add backlink – bookmark this site? Regards, Reader.
Reading through the comments to the original article, I found it interesting that most of the comments were posted by ladies. Well, I’m not afraid to say I have two chapters to go to finish Beyond Black Bear Lake. I found a copy of Woodswoman III on ebay and it is on it’s way and I’m currently looking for Woodswoman IV to either buy or borrow. Even as a guy, one cannot help but respect the work of Dr. LaBastille. She was visionary in many ways. I am very interested in the simplicity movement and she was already into that in the late 70′s. Just wanted to point out she is just as inspiring to men, in a non-sexist way, as she is to women. We can all learn from her. I had heard she was ill, but I never knew and am sad to hear it is Alzheimers. I hope all of you will join me in sending up prayers of peace, love and support to Dr. LaBastille.
I have several autographed books from Anne and a couple notes she kindly sent me after I discovered her books. We are very much alike in some ways and I treasure her insights into the world of living in the wild, something which I am blessed to be able to do. I am so thankful to have had some contact with her prior to her becoming incompacitated by Alzheimer’s. She is a great inspiration to me.
I am one of the fortunate who had the opportunity to spend a day with Anne La Bastille. I cried when I read that she has Alzheimer’s.
I wrote to Anne after discovering her first book on a thrift store shelf. My friend Cindy and I corresponded with Anne, and eventually were able to visit her. It was a magical day.
She met us for breakfast to check us out and make sure were trustworthy. Then she opened her world to us and took us everywhere special to her. I will treasure that memory forever. I have wondered why I got no response when writing to her.
I will cherish her letters even more now. Xandor was everything he seemed to be in her books.
God bless you Anne.
I was fortunate to have met and talked with Anne when she visited Long Lake many years ago. I’m a big fan of her writing. I’m very sorry to hear she’s not in the best of health. I can only imagine how much she must miss her beloved woods.
Randy and all fans of Dr. Anne LaBastille, I am simply a great admirer of hers and have been since she wrote “Woodswoman”. I am so sorry to hear of her devastating illness. This seems so tragic to happen to one totally devoted to nature. Anne never knew this, but she was such an inspiration to me and I felt such kinship with nature, just as she describes it in her wonderful books.
Randy, I want you to find another book, “A Walk in the Woods” by Bill Bryson.
Oh, my…Randy…I just lost my former step-son, named Randy. He would write like you. Please let me know if you are still here or if ‘my’ Randy wrote the above comment.
It’s good to read all the appreciative comments about Dr. La Bastille, and to know there are many who remember all the fine work she did. I just finished reading, with sadness, comments at another site where the Commenters focused on what they thought of as her rudeness or eccentricity when they met her in public. Almost without exception the complaints were petty and self-involved. They did not seem to understand that La Bastille had been under threat of personal attack from those who objected to her ecological stance in the Adirondacks. Arsonists had burned her barns and destroyed her vehicles. Her natural concern for her privacy was heightened by this. She must have felt she didn’t know whom to trust. It’s also possible that, if she does indeed have Alzheimer’s, her occasioal abrupt responses were early signs of it.
In any case, it was refreshing to see that many on this site wish her well in her current struggle, and appreciate how gallantly she struggled for the well-being of the natural world in the past.
I have just finished the three Woodswoman books, again, and am so glad to read the posts of others who appreciate her as much as I do. I first heard of her on a television program–I think it was PBS–in the ’80s, that featured the story of her building the cabin in the Adirondacks. I haven’t heard any reference made to that program since, but it led me to find and read her books later. I pray she has peace, if not memory, in her daily existence.
StudioInverness
A little clockshop located in the highlands of the Appalachains, one days drive north of Boston and an hour south west of Quebec city.
Here we live in the woods……..close to nature where we have the opportunity for resourcefulness, reflection, and creative thinking.
I am a great fan of ANNE LABASTILLE books.
May we all learn from her……..
I was working at Mann Library at Cornell Univ. in Ithaca, NY in the early 70′s and routinely helped a blond-haired rather rustic-type woman who was a grad. student. She always had her German shepherd dog with her (in those days you could bring a dog into the library).
One day my co-worker and I were looking at a new issue of “The Conservationist” and there was an article with a photo of this same grad student. Her name was Anne LaBastille. It told of her book “Woodswoman” and her life story from growing up near NYC and getting a college job at this Adirondack hotel, eventually marrying and divorcing the owner while discovering camping and the outdoors and biology.
We at the library immediately bought her book and the next time she was in we invited her to the staff lounge for coffee and to autograph our books. She was kind and lovely and we were, from then on, interested in following her life. By then she had divorced her husband and built her cabin and written at least one book and was in grad school.
Later, I was near Big Moose lake and stumbled on an historic log hotel, which turned out to be the one owned by her ex (we discovered this in flipping through a photo album in the main room and it had photos of Anne with him). He had re-married (another blond) and was still running the hotel.
She was in Ithaca several times later lecturing with a slide show about her various efforts in ecology.
I always wanted to see her cabin (should be a museum) but we at the library treasured meeting her. I did learn that her original cabin was on Twitchell Lake near Big Moose Lake. She named it Black Bear Lake of course. All of her books were wonderful but the first was exceptional as was she. Sorry to hear the latest sad news. Life goes so quickly.
How nice to come upon this post. I read Woodswoman when I was a teenage girl just beginning to learn backpacking and hiking. Her story of independence and her committed environmental stance were, and are, inspiring. I’m so sorry to hear of her illness and sorry I missed the chance to send her a book for signing – I wouldn’t want to trouble her now. It’s gratifying to know she touched so many lives.
I just completed Woodswoman III and am so sad to read of her illness. I found her books to be uplifting,interesting,encouraging and supportive of those who care about the environment.
I live on a small lake, have a beautiful German shepherd dog and so can identify with so much of which she has written. I feel so much more aware of the consequences of our actions on this precious earth.
I will now search for Woodswoman IV.
I have read all of Anne’s books. She is a wonderful inspiration to anyone who loves the out of doors, especially the Adirondacks. My wife and I, my son and my sister have canoed “Black Bear Lake” numerous times. It is not as remote as it was when Anne lived there but it is a wonderful wilderness experience. We usually set our canoes in the water before sunrise and paddle completely around the lake, enjoying the loons and their music and soaking in the beauty of the surroundings. We always paddle past the camp of “The Woodswoman”. A beautiful and quiet place.
I was given La Bastille’s book Woodswoman in 1979 by a dear friend. I could not bring myself to read it at that time as it would have been too painful living in Florida and missing the Adirondacks where as a child I had spent many happy summers in a cabin with my family on the Oswegatchie River near the town of Wanakena. I opened the book last week and could not put it down. What a great story and now I hope to find her other books. So sad to hear of her illness.
I was just working on Christmas cards, and had held on to my card from last year, returned from the last address I had for Ann. I realized I hadn’t heard from her for a while, so I thought I’d browse online to see if I could find some new contact information. I’m so sorry to hear about her health.
I was a student of Anne’s back in 1986, when she was a visiting professor at Florida International University. She and I became friends and then something of pen pals as we moved on with our lives. She was a great mentor and I credit her for helping me develop my own writing career. I always found her inspiring, warm hearted and kind.
If there is anyway to send a note to her at the retirement home where she is living, I would really like to do so. I can be contacted at willinghamster@gmail.com if anyone has the relevant information. Maybe those of us with stories to share of having known or met her can pull them together for a book for her to have where she’s living. I have some wonderful photos of her and I with Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, when we coordinated Ms. Douglas’ visit to FIU for a guest lecture. I also have other photos Ann has sent me over the years, and some of our correspondence.
I don’t know what made me think of Anne today. I loved reading her books. They brought me so much peace and confidence. I found an article written about her by a local paper at:
http://pressrepublican.com/0100_news/x155209575/Woodswoman-still-craves-solitude#
She’s such an inspiration! God bless you, Woodswoman!
I am sadly to say, Anne LaBastille, has passed away. July 1 2011 in Plattsburgh, N.Y.