Burning Man, Slaying Dragon

by Deanna Kawatski

“Burning Man, Slaying Dragon is an exciting, high stakes, spiritual adventure that spans decades, continents, cultures and generations. As a young, headstrong hippie, Deanna Barnhardt Kawatski leaves her home at her beloved Shuswap Lake in BC seeking meaning and enlightenment in an astounding, dangerous quest that takes her overland from Europe to India, only to find that heaven may be back from whence she came. Decades later, as a grown woman and mother, Deanna Barnhardt Kawatski embarks upon another journey, in the company of her own headstrong daughter, this time to the notorious Burning Man Festival in the scorched Nevada desert. In Burning Man, Slaying Dragon Deanna Barnhardt Kawatski effortlessly weaves together these two stories of past and present in a highly descriptive and page-turning style that will have you reaching for your World Atlas in wonderment. Throughout the adventure the author manages to face her own inner fears while under constant threat of staggering sexism, highly questionable transportation, murderous nomads, engulfing sand storms, transformative drugs, and elusive love.”

GRANT LAWRENCE, CBC Radio Personality, author of Adventures

236 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 29, 2012

About the author

Deanna Barnhardt Kawatski was born in Salmon Arm, British Columbia and grew up in Kamloops, B.C.. She travelled extensively in the 1970's and spent three years living in Europe, her travels financed by intense bouts of tree planting back in B.C.. Deanna met author, George Ryga in 1974 and he beame her mentor. In 1978 she worked as a forestry lookout attendant in Northern B.C. where she met her hermit husband. For the next thirteen years she led the life of a pioneering mother in the wilderness. At the same time she wrote feature articles for magazines such as Mother Earth News, Harrowsmith, Country Journal, and Canadian Gardening. Her life has been the subject of two CBC television documentaries and two books. WILDERNESS MOTHER became a best-selling title while CLARA AND ME was a B.C. Book Prize nominee. Both memoirs were Book-of-the-Month Club selections. BIRD, BUBBLE AND STREAM, a volume of poetry was published by Fiddlehead Press and Deanna's poetry and short stories have appeared in various anthologies including IMAGINING BRITISH COLUMBIA. Deanna has served as a regional representative for the Federation of B.C. Writers and also worked as a writer-in-resident at the Ryga Centre in Summerland. For the past twenty-six years Deanna has given many readings and workshops. She is featured on the first-ever Literary Map of BC.

Reviews

[Deanna Kawatski · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Burning Man, Slaying Dragon" is an exciting, high stakes, spiritual adventure that spans decades, continents, cultures and generations. As a young, headstrong hippie, Deanna Barnhardt Kawatski leaves her home at her beloved Shuswap Lake in BC seeking meaning and enlightenment in an astounding, dangerous quest that takes her overland from Europe to India, only to find that heaven may be back from whence she came. Decades later, as a grown woman and mother Deanna Barnhardt Kawatski embarks upon another journey, in the company of her own headstrong daughter, this time to the notorious Burning Man Festival in the scorched Nevada desert. In "Burning Man, Slaying Dragon" Deanna Barnhardt Kawatski effortlessly weaves together these two stories of past and present in a highly descriptive and page-turning style that will have you reaching for your World Atlas in wonderment. Throughout the adventure the author manages to face her own inner fears while under constant threat of staggering sexism, highly questionable transportation, murderous nomads, engulfing sand storms, transformative drugs and elusive love."
GRANT LAWRENCE CBC Radio Personality, author of "Adventures in Solitude"

[Becky-Lynn Sturge · Rating 5 out of 5]

So sorry I didn't know !

Some years ago I met Deanna in a store on the west side of Salmon Arrm BC. She was resetting her books at the display. I had looked at Wilderness Mother and commented "that would be interesting " Deanna was standing beside me and indicated she was the author and that she was stepping out of her comfort zone to reveal that. She asked if I had any questions .
I had to say no and comment that I hadn't read it yet but would if I had. She then invited me to talk she was doing at the library that evening. As we were passing through on a larger trip I had to decline
BOY do I wish I had!!!
I have since then read 5 off Deanna's books and looking for more. I love her descriptive wordings. Her life story is inspiring...particularly because we are in a similar age group. My only dislike is that there are not more of them. It would be great to see some of her articles she submitted to various magazines compiled in a publication of some kind. Thank you Deanna.

[Shawn Bird]

This was interesting. What I took away from Deanna's "transformative tale" was this: if you do LSD and hash in your youth, you will develop anxieties and illusions that will plague you for the rest of your life. As she says on the last page, "We create our own reality." Cause and effect are logical. Sometimes the very 'reality' created is actually an illusion.

[Tamara Anderson]

i loved this book its about a mother and daughter and their journey to Burning Man. During their visit the mom shares her experience traveling to India.

[Karin Von · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed the journey(s).