2 ratings | 0 reviews | avg rating:5.00

Jeff Darren Muse’s Followers (9)

Jeff’s Bookshelves

to-read (0)
currently-reading (0)
read (2)
did-not-finish (0)

Jeff’s Friends (8)

Jennifer Lang

129 books | 467 friends

John

1,444 books | 2,215 friends

28 books | 42 friends

Rebecca

75 books | 367 friends

Kyra

176 books | 14 friends

J.D. Nelson

342 books | 3,191 friends

Emily

175 books | 65 friends

Kathryn Peterson

0 books | 229 friends

Jeff Darren Muse

Goodreads Author

Website

https://www.jeffdarrenmuse.com

Member Since

March 2023

edit data

In his award-winning memoir, Dear Park Ranger, Jeff Darren Muse writes: "You will not care for what you do not know. Start now. Start knowing it." From crawdad creeks and public wildlands to college classrooms and prison gardens, he has worked throughout the United States as an environmental educator, historical interpreter, and park ranger.

Born and raised in Indiana, Muse graduated from Mt. Vernon High School in 1987 and DePauw University in 1991. With master's degrees in science and creative writing, he has been employed by numerous agencies, public universities, and nonprofit organizations, from McLeod Plantation Historic Site and Zion National Park, to The Evergreen State College and University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, to Hudson River Sl In his award-winning memoir, Dear Park Ranger, Jeff Darren Muse writes: "You will not care for what you do not know. Start now. Start knowing it." From crawdad creeks and public wildlands to college classrooms and prison gardens, he has worked throughout the United States as an environmental educator, historical interpreter, and park ranger.

Born and raised in Indiana, Muse graduated from Mt. Vernon High School in 1987 and DePauw University in 1991. With master's degrees in science and creative writing, he has been employed by numerous agencies, public universities, and nonprofit organizations, from McLeod Plantation Historic Site and Zion National Park, to The Evergreen State College and University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, to Hudson River Sloop Clearwater and North Cascades Institute. Be it north, south, east, or west, he embodies the Crossroads of America.

As a writer, Muse is inspired by Brian Doyle's dictum: "The essay is a jackdaw, a magpie, a raven. It picks up everything and uses it." Exploring nature, culture, family life, and his own highs and lows, Muse's essays have appeared in Ascent, The Common, High Country News, and River Teeth, among others. His book, Dear Park Ranger, interrogates his lifelong restlessness—that of a fatherless, childless Hoosier who wouldn't and couldn't stay put. In 2024, Indiana Authors Awards celebrated his memoir on the Debut Shortlist. Likewise, Nautilus Book Awards honored it with a silver medal, and Foreword Reviews deemed it a finalist for a 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Award.

With his wife, "Ranger Paula," Muse has returned home to central Indiana where he now battles cancer—his own. In the summer of 2023, as they both rangered in New Mexico, he experienced a cluster of confusing symptoms. An MRI revealed a brain tumor. Healthcare laid out a map. "Don't fret," he says. "I'm still here! Still hiking!" Along with writing about this new wilderness, Muse continues to connect people to places and people to each other—all ages, all walks of life. ...more

Combine Editions
Jeff Darren Muse’s books

Average rating: 4.46 · 39 ratings · 17 reviews · 1 distinct work • Similar authors

Dear Park Ranger: Essays on Manhood, Restlessness, and the Geography of Hope

4.46 avg rating — 39 ratings — 2 editions

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

rss
Jeff’s Recent Updates

Jeff Muse rated a book it was amazing A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 13, 2025 04:29AM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jeff Muse rated a book it was amazing Dear Park Ranger: Essays on Manhood, Restlessness, and the Geography of Hope by Jeff Darren Muse (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 17, 2024 12:19PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Dear Park Ranger by Jeff Darren Muse. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Dear Park Ranger by Jeff Darren Muse <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">