On a two-week outdoor winter snowshoeing trip in northern Saskatchewan with her niece Dilly, outdoor adventurer Jay tells stories as they hike and camp. Some are true - her outdoor training in Wyoming, her early life on the farm - and some are stories within stories within stories. A faux diamond necklace that mysteriously appears and disappears, Jay's youthful encounters with the mysterious Cowboy, an inspiring series of books that she read on her long-ago canoe trip alone - all are underscored by Jay's love and respect for the wild. In The School of the Haunted River, the late Colleen Gerwing fashioned a novel based on her own life as an outdoorswoman, a novel about the natural world that will haunt and enchant even as it educates you.

COLLEEN GERWING grew up on the family farm near Lake Lenore, Saskatchewan, a creative and adventurous child with a wonderful imagination. She was Annie Oakley; she was an NHL hockey player; she trained crows and told scary stories.

Her first job at Waskesiu began a life-long love of Prince Albert National Park. She studied recreation technology at Kelsey Institute of Technology in Saskatoon and worked in Rosetown and Hafford and then at the Saskatoon Boys and Girls Club for some years. In 1977, she attended the National Outdoor Leadership School in Wyoming. She worked as a guide at Algonquin Park, and in the 1970s, she had a small company called Wilderness Trips for Women.

Canoeing, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, winter camping: Colleen loved being out in the natural world, often by herself. She began her work with Parks Canada at Fort Walsh near Cypress Hills and at Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba, but mostly worked at her favourite place, Prince Albert National Park. Grey Owl, the naturalist, was one of her heroes for all his flaws, and she became friends with his wife, Anahareo, and their daughter, Dawn. In winter, Colleen studied French in Quebec or German in Germany and Cree in Saskatoon. She was a wonderful painter and favoured painting paddles and rocks as well as canvases.

Although Colleen survived her first bout with cancer, it came roaring back and took her quickly. She died peacefully at home on April 20, 2021, at the age of 58.

Colleen Gerwing's profile page

"With tender care and deep empirical knowledge gained over many years, Colleen Gerwing invites readers into the landscape she loves best: northern Saskatchewan. This autobiographical novel's language, imagery, narrative flow, and characters all bring her story to vibrant and compelling life. Gerwing offers wise, helpful, and illuminating insight into the nature of life and death, into that fine line between 'now' and 'then,' and the enduring and essential connections between us and the natural world."--J. Jill Robinson, award-winning author of More in Anger

"All the wildlife encounters, weather woes, a 'scourge of mosquitoes,' portage and river challenges, and the hunger one would expect from an extended, solitary canoe journey are here, but it's the revelations about self and humanity that raise this book to a higher level. Gerwing ingeniously weaves her engaging life-story into an adventure novel and fills it with life lessons and poetic gems...Thank you, Colleen Gerwing, for transporting us to your sanctuary." - Shelley A. Leedahl, SaskBooks Reviews