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Overstory: Zero : Real Life in Timber Country
This is a collection of personal essays by an author who knows what it means to be a logger, tree planter, mill worker and roofer in the "marginal population" of the Umpqua Valley in Oregon. In honest, gritty prose, Heilman writes about the complex relationships between work, nature, family and community at a time when community itself is as endangered as any job or tree.
192 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 19, 2008
Understated and under-rated. His-stories are the ones that seem unremarkable, except that they are the stories so many of my peers (and I) have lived.
August 18, 2019
Heilman reminds me of Thomas Lynch in the slow, careful look he takes at his seemingly quotidian surroundings.
March 28, 2016
"More than the physical exhaustion, this effort to not see the world around you tires you. It takes a lot of effort not to notice, not to care. You can go crazy from lack of sleep because you must dream in order to sort out everything you see and hear and feel during the day. But you can also get sick from not being truly awake, not seeing, feeling, and touching the real world.
When the world around you is painful and ugly, the pain and ugliness seeps into you, no matter how hard you try to keep it out." -29-30
Heilman's tree-planting foreman: "Jack wasn't a bad guy to work for. . . . But like a lot of nice people, he'd bought into a plan, some words on paper that he never questioned despite the evidence all around him. . . . It never occurred to him that no plan, no matter how detailed, could ever encompass something as complex and miraculous as a mountain slope." -39
"The illusion of sameness creates a devalued currency in our language, thoughts, and emotions. We forget that the word only stands for the thing suggested, and the object itself is, by its essential nature, unknowable mystery and sacred--simply by being." -40
"But what about those that only think they know me, who have fixed notions about categories of people--notions that keep them from seeing individuals?" -58
"Most of us would rather accept the idea of an enemy among us than examine ourselves for sign of the enemy within each one of us." -76
"But before that first dive I avoid all contact with the river, not out of superstition but from a sense of propriety, a desire to do this one thing right in spite of all the other things in my life that I botch." -81
"...but the long [census] form did require me to ask for her job title and then a description of her main tasks and duties. 'Mixing and serving drinks,' I suggested and began to pencil in my own reply, anticipating her agreement. 'Nope--babysitting drunks,' she informed me in all seriousness. I turned my pencil upside down to erase what I'd written and recorded her reply." -172
"Though the motion of a diabolical presence in the Reagan administration had a certain appeal, it was just too tidy and comforting. It would be heartening to find that there really is a purpose behind 'the evil that men do,' since that would be a sign of competence and intelligence." -196
"My younger brother calls them grimsters, short for 'grim-faced old men with caps,' and you see a lot of them around here, driving by in their weathered pickup trucks, dressed in hickory shirts, feed caps, and overalls or Lee 88's with suspenders." -214
When the world around you is painful and ugly, the pain and ugliness seeps into you, no matter how hard you try to keep it out." -29-30
Heilman's tree-planting foreman: "Jack wasn't a bad guy to work for. . . . But like a lot of nice people, he'd bought into a plan, some words on paper that he never questioned despite the evidence all around him. . . . It never occurred to him that no plan, no matter how detailed, could ever encompass something as complex and miraculous as a mountain slope." -39
"The illusion of sameness creates a devalued currency in our language, thoughts, and emotions. We forget that the word only stands for the thing suggested, and the object itself is, by its essential nature, unknowable mystery and sacred--simply by being." -40
"But what about those that only think they know me, who have fixed notions about categories of people--notions that keep them from seeing individuals?" -58
"Most of us would rather accept the idea of an enemy among us than examine ourselves for sign of the enemy within each one of us." -76
"But before that first dive I avoid all contact with the river, not out of superstition but from a sense of propriety, a desire to do this one thing right in spite of all the other things in my life that I botch." -81
"...but the long [census] form did require me to ask for her job title and then a description of her main tasks and duties. 'Mixing and serving drinks,' I suggested and began to pencil in my own reply, anticipating her agreement. 'Nope--babysitting drunks,' she informed me in all seriousness. I turned my pencil upside down to erase what I'd written and recorded her reply." -172
"Though the motion of a diabolical presence in the Reagan administration had a certain appeal, it was just too tidy and comforting. It would be heartening to find that there really is a purpose behind 'the evil that men do,' since that would be a sign of competence and intelligence." -196
"My younger brother calls them grimsters, short for 'grim-faced old men with caps,' and you see a lot of them around here, driving by in their weathered pickup trucks, dressed in hickory shirts, feed caps, and overalls or Lee 88's with suspenders." -214
January 27, 2021
There are two ways to expose deep truths: write as explicitly as possible with precise language to try and translate your own truth to text, OR to expose truth through often more humble stories and words that harness common experience to leverage individual meaning. And there are probably more, but basically tell or show or show or tell.
This book accomplishes a middle ground of both. I found myself agreeing with the lessons I’ve learned through my own experiences reminded to me by the stories in each chapter. Somehow they all feel like they come back to a common thread of humanity and how hard it is to grasp how similar and dissimilar we all are.
He writes clearly and with what seems to be a knowledge of the end goal. Like a person who anticipates what you need to learn and can bring personal anecdote to reveal relation between scenarios. It’s something I personally am not good at, but am deeply moved by in his writing. Reminded me of Jim Harrison, but you know, non-fiction, and more punctuation.
This book accomplishes a middle ground of both. I found myself agreeing with the lessons I’ve learned through my own experiences reminded to me by the stories in each chapter. Somehow they all feel like they come back to a common thread of humanity and how hard it is to grasp how similar and dissimilar we all are.
He writes clearly and with what seems to be a knowledge of the end goal. Like a person who anticipates what you need to learn and can bring personal anecdote to reveal relation between scenarios. It’s something I personally am not good at, but am deeply moved by in his writing. Reminded me of Jim Harrison, but you know, non-fiction, and more punctuation.
August 23, 2024
Heilman has created something beautiful. Heilman has created something that represents the working class, rural communities, and the intersection between both subjects with the environment. All while being in an easy-to-read story like way. I enjoyed how each chapter was something a little different, and that the ending summarized everything in a very applicable way. I think that anyone, especially those of my generation could read and learn something from this book. Mainly the importance of hard work, neighborliness, and leftism (in a small-town "on your own" kind of way).
July 7, 2022
Was stoked to find this at a bookstore in Roseburg. Written by an (almost) hometown author, Heilman recounts his 20th century years in Douglas County. A memoir of sorts, a strong theme throughout the book is the decay of the American small town and American communities in general. Where do we go when we don't know our neighbors anymore? Very relatable and feels geared toward the blue collar communities of Douglas County.
February 27, 2018
This book has been on my to-read shelf for several years. These fine essays by a Myrtle Creek, Oregon logger, tree planter, millworker and writer/philosopher, are simply wonderful. As he describes his work, his life, and the Umpqua River valleys, Heilman also reminds us why our lives have meaning and sustenance when we understand and love our neighbors and respect the land given to us.
February 29, 2020
Overstory -- the branches above -- provides protection to the earth and its creatures below. When a land has been clearcut, and does not even have shrubs to shelter the wildlife, it is called Overstory Zero. And so it is when people do not let others have a whit of humanity -- misery and suffering ensue. RLH tells about replanting trees and restoring communities -- and hope.
January 8, 2020
Although Bob’s introspection regarding community is both humbling and encouraging, the tedium of these essays eventually tears the lone thread holding it all together.
October 6, 2015
An exquisite book. Wonderful essays about life in Myrtle Creek, Oregon a small town in southern Oregon where timber-related jobs were the life blood of the town. The writing is approachable, down-to-like and informative. I can't choose a favorite essay although I related to The Milkshed because I milked a cow by hand during my teenage years. This is a book to savor and return to.
This 20th Anniversary Edition published in 2014 contains 10 additional essays written after 1995.
This 20th Anniversary Edition published in 2014 contains 10 additional essays written after 1995.
November 17, 2011
Excellent writing. And the subject is interesting to me since I grew up in Oregon and continue to be concerned about our economy and environment. And I like the memoir/essay style; most of the essays were previously published in local periodicals.
January 28, 2016
It isn't easy to support the ailing timber industry and love old growth forests. It ain't easy to be highly intelligent, and live by choice in what others view as a backwater town. It isn't easy to convey these conflicts in writing. Heilman does.
February 18, 2013
This is such a wonderful wonderful book. I loved it.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews