In Side Channels, a stunning blend of natural history, nature journaling, and memoir, author Thomas V. Lerczak illustrates the beauty of life along rivers, especially the Illinois River, while highlighting the juxtaposition between modern life and the natural world.

A collection of previously published articles, several unpublished pieces, and 12 shorter “memoir chapters” serve as the backbone of this moving narrative. Topics include canoeing adventure, travel, birds and birding, natural areas, and rivers—especially the Illinois River. Though each of the chapters maintains a particular ecological focus, the shorter, more memoir-driven sections serve as an adhesive—breathing life into Lerczak’s words.

While Side Channels is, at its center, a ”nature book” grounded in the science of ecology, it is Lerczak’s personal stories, from descriptions of him as a boy being introduced to the outdoors in Chicago during the 1960s to a grown man contemplating the true meaning of a “wilderness experience,” that give this book its unique quality.

Side Channels is illustrated with 14 sketches by Patti Malmborg Reilly, eleven of which were drawn from photographs taken by the author; these photographs plus background information can be found on Lerczak’s weblog, The River Landing.