What do you think?
Rate this book
THE WINDS: AN ALL OR NOTHING PROPOSITION THAT HE COULD EITHER LIVE...OR... DIE WITH!
"The Winds" is the poignant journey of Cade, a man haunted by the tragic loss of his girlfriend decades ago. Despite building a family with his wife and children, Cade finds himself unable to shake the shadows of his past. Desperate for healing, his therapist suggests revisiting his childhood city, hoping to confront and overcome his lingering trauma. As Cade navigates the familiar streets with his children and revisits cherished memories, he grapples with grief, guilt, and the possibility of finding peace. Through encounters with old friends and revisiting significant places, Cade's journey becomes an exploration of loss, resilience, and the power of confronting one's past to pave the way for a brighter future. Will Cade find solace and the courage to embrace life once more, or will more tragic events that unfold in his life completely destroy his will to live?
476 pages, Paperback
Published August 19, 2024
About the author
David J. Bunnell
3 booksBefore David J. Bunnell ever wrote a word of fiction, he spent nearly four years living and working inside a massive, fully operational mortuary. Newly married and far from home, he and his wife moved to a new city for college and took an opportunity that most people would have walked away from. He carried bodies through maze-like corridors in the middle of the night. He witnessed underground mine disaster victims come through the mortuary load-out area and watched families filter in to identify their fathers and sons by their teeth while they lay covered with a sheet on the concrete floor. He became intimately familiar with the phrase body run. And somewhere inside all of that silence and weight, a writer was born.
But the writing did not begin in the mortuary. It began on a bus. For two and a half years David commuted daily to a second job after college, one hour each way, while most passengers slept or talked. He read. Novel after novel after novel. And somewhere on that route, somewhere between the first page of one book and the last page of another, the thought arrived and refused to leave. I could do this. That single B in high school English be damned.
Years later David wrote his first novel in thirty days. Not in a quiet study or a dedicated writing space, but in a 32 square foot furnace room in his basement while his children ran and laughed overhead. He had to stop more than once. Not because he lost his train of thought. But because the story he was telling was that real. He finished the book in a month. Then he carried it for twenty seven years.
Today David is the author of three books, each one written in thirty days, each one drawn from a life fully lived.
The Winds is a literary psychological thriller set in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming. It follows Cade, a man haunted by a preventable tragedy and an unforgivable choice, on a journey back to the place where everything unraveled. A story about grief, guilt, and the terrifying possibility of finally letting go.
Body Run is a raw, relentless serial killer thriller born directly from his mortuary years. When a methodical killer begins leaving engraved metal tags on victims across the city, Detective Isaak is pulled into a pursuit that cuts closer and closer to home. Written by a man who once carried the dead through real corridors at night, this is not a story imagined from a distance. It is lived, felt, and told with unflinching honesty.
Touchdown Jesus is a coming of age football story rooted in his own experiences of being uprooted, navigating bullies, and learning what it truly costs to stand up for yourself and others. When star fullback Crem Hill is dropped into a Wyoming town that has already decided who belongs, he faces his hardest opponent yet. Not on the field. In the hallways. And in the mirror.
David is also the Plant Manager of a unique cheese manufacturing facility in Idaho, a lifelong athlete who played college football, and a man who has survived a heart attack and nearly ten kidney stones and still shows up every single day with rolled up sleeves.
He still finds his greatest peace fishing the high mountain lakes of the Wind River Mountains, the same mountains that gave his most personal story its home.
His writing does not ask you to feel something. It makes you feel everything whether you are ready or not.
But the writing did not begin in the mortuary. It began on a bus. For two and a half years David commuted daily to a second job after college, one hour each way, while most passengers slept or talked. He read. Novel after novel after novel. And somewhere on that route, somewhere between the first page of one book and the last page of another, the thought arrived and refused to leave. I could do this. That single B in high school English be damned.
Years later David wrote his first novel in thirty days. Not in a quiet study or a dedicated writing space, but in a 32 square foot furnace room in his basement while his children ran and laughed overhead. He had to stop more than once. Not because he lost his train of thought. But because the story he was telling was that real. He finished the book in a month. Then he carried it for twenty seven years.
Today David is the author of three books, each one written in thirty days, each one drawn from a life fully lived.
The Winds is a literary psychological thriller set in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming. It follows Cade, a man haunted by a preventable tragedy and an unforgivable choice, on a journey back to the place where everything unraveled. A story about grief, guilt, and the terrifying possibility of finally letting go.
Body Run is a raw, relentless serial killer thriller born directly from his mortuary years. When a methodical killer begins leaving engraved metal tags on victims across the city, Detective Isaak is pulled into a pursuit that cuts closer and closer to home. Written by a man who once carried the dead through real corridors at night, this is not a story imagined from a distance. It is lived, felt, and told with unflinching honesty.
Touchdown Jesus is a coming of age football story rooted in his own experiences of being uprooted, navigating bullies, and learning what it truly costs to stand up for yourself and others. When star fullback Crem Hill is dropped into a Wyoming town that has already decided who belongs, he faces his hardest opponent yet. Not on the field. In the hallways. And in the mirror.
David is also the Plant Manager of a unique cheese manufacturing facility in Idaho, a lifelong athlete who played college football, and a man who has survived a heart attack and nearly ten kidney stones and still shows up every single day with rolled up sleeves.
He still finds his greatest peace fishing the high mountain lakes of the Wind River Mountains, the same mountains that gave his most personal story its home.
His writing does not ask you to feel something. It makes you feel everything whether you are ready or not.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
May 11, 2026
Running Bear and the Secret of the Winds.
Chapter 1 hooked me immediately. The imagery of the old Chief on his horse, the hidden gold behind the waterfall, and that 'eerily silent' feeling of being watched by an eagle... it adds a mystical, high-stakes layer to what I thought was just a contemporary drama..
Chapter 1 hooked me immediately. The imagery of the old Chief on his horse, the hidden gold behind the waterfall, and that 'eerily silent' feeling of being watched by an eagle... it adds a mystical, high-stakes layer to what I thought was just a contemporary drama..
May 11, 2026
A story about the ghosts we carry.
As a reader who loves a good 'reckoning with the past' story, this hit all the right notes. Cade has the perfect Chicago life, the ER doctor title, the beautiful wife, the kids but you can feel his hollowed-out grief from the very first page. It’s a powerful reminder that some secrets don’t stay buried.
As a reader who loves a good 'reckoning with the past' story, this hit all the right notes. Cade has the perfect Chicago life, the ER doctor title, the beautiful wife, the kids but you can feel his hollowed-out grief from the very first page. It’s a powerful reminder that some secrets don’t stay buried.
May 11, 2026
A relatable struggle with guilt.
We all have things we wish we could undo. Seeing a successful man like Cade struggle to even say the name of his hometown, Lorenz, makes him so human. It’s a beautiful exploration of how trauma shapes our parenting and our marriages.
We all have things we wish we could undo. Seeing a successful man like Cade struggle to even say the name of his hometown, Lorenz, makes him so human. It’s a beautiful exploration of how trauma shapes our parenting and our marriages.
May 11, 2026
A chilling mystery in the mountains.
The 1999 prologue sets such a dark, intriguing tone. Knowing there’s a 'coveted rich vein of gold' and a Shoshone Chief sensing danger right before we jump to Cade's modern life in Chicago makes you wonder how these two worlds are going to collide.
The 1999 prologue sets such a dark, intriguing tone. Knowing there’s a 'coveted rich vein of gold' and a Shoshone Chief sensing danger right before we jump to Cade's modern life in Chicago makes you wonder how these two worlds are going to collide.
May 11, 2026
I could feel the Wyoming wind."
The descriptions of 'the Winds' are breathtaking. The author writes about the granite slopes and the Shoshone heritage with such respect and vividness. It’s not just a setting; it’s a character that demands a reckoning.
The descriptions of 'the Winds' are breathtaking. The author writes about the granite slopes and the Shoshone heritage with such respect and vividness. It’s not just a setting; it’s a character that demands a reckoning.
May 11, 2026
The scenes between Cade and his daughter Brit are so tender. When she asks if Wyoming is 'another country' and talks about cowboys and Indians, it highlights the massive gap between Cade’s polished city life and the raw, rugged world he ran away from in 1999.
May 11, 2026
The 20-Year Reunion Hook.
Reunion stories are my weakness, but this one feels different. It’s not about seeing who got fat or successful; it’s about Cade facing the 'accident' he saw right after graduation. I’m dying to know what really happened to his girlfriend.
Reunion stories are my weakness, but this one feels different. It’s not about seeing who got fat or successful; it’s about Cade facing the 'accident' he saw right after graduation. I’m dying to know what really happened to his girlfriend.
May 11, 2026
From the L in Chicago to the Rocky Mountains.
I loved the transition from the 'digital red' vibes of a city to the 'cracked fingertips' and 'burning lungs' of 10,000 feet. The author clearly knows both worlds well, and that authenticity makes the story shine.
I loved the transition from the 'digital red' vibes of a city to the 'cracked fingertips' and 'burning lungs' of 10,000 feet. The author clearly knows both worlds well, and that authenticity makes the story shine.
May 11, 2026
That therapy scene with Dr. Morrison was masterfully written. The way the author describes the ticking clock becoming louder and louder as Cade finally breaks down about his girlfriend's accident... I was holding my breath. You can feel the 'floodgates' opening.
Read
May 11, 2026Moving and visceral. The contrast between the sterile, high-stakes environment of a Chicago ER and the 'unforgivably thin' air of the Wind River Mountains is brilliant. It shows exactly how far Cade has tried to travel to get away from his younger self.
May 11, 2026
Is Cade connected to the gold?
I have so many theories! Cade has 'dark complexion' from his mother’s genes, I wonder if there’s a connection between his family and the Shoshone reservation that he doesn't even know about yet.
I have so many theories! Cade has 'dark complexion' from his mother’s genes, I wonder if there’s a connection between his family and the Shoshone reservation that he doesn't even know about yet.
May 11, 2026
Cade’s wife, Angie, is such an interesting character. She’s the one who pushed him to see the psychiatrist and the one worried about him 'opening the floodgates.' She knows something is broken in him, and watching her navigate that is heartbreaking.
May 11, 2026
Seeing the trip through the kids' eyes Zac with his iPod and Bulls cap, and Brit wanting to see a 'real Indian' adds a layer of innocence to a story that is otherwise very heavy with guilt and gold-fever.
May 11, 2026
Buckle up is right!"
The tagline says it's about to get real, and it does. This isn't a light beach read. It’s a deep dive into the 'crushing weight of the past.' If you like books that make you stop and think about your own choices, pick this up.
The tagline says it's about to get real, and it does. This isn't a light beach read. It’s a deep dive into the 'crushing weight of the past.' If you like books that make you stop and think about your own choices, pick this up.
May 11, 2026
The ER Doctor at his breaking point."
Cade’s dialogue about removing slivers vs. the reality of Chicago gun violence was so sharp. It shows he’s a man who deals with trauma every day but can’t face his own. Such a great character study.
Cade’s dialogue about removing slivers vs. the reality of Chicago gun violence was so sharp. It shows he’s a man who deals with trauma every day but can’t face his own. Such a great character study.
Read
May 11, 2026A slow-burn mystery with a big heart."
It starts as a family drama and shifts into something much more atmospheric and mysterious. The writing about the Shoshone struggles and the 'unwelcome invaders' provides a grounded historical context that elevates the whole book.
It starts as a family drama and shifts into something much more atmospheric and mysterious. The writing about the Shoshone struggles and the 'unwelcome invaders' provides a grounded historical context that elevates the whole book.
May 11, 2026
The juxtaposition of a 'Delta flight' and 'general boarding' against the ancient, 'faithful horse' of Running Bear creates a really cool tension. It’s a story about how the modern world tries to ignore the old ways, but the mountains don’t forget.
May 11, 2026
I actually teared up during Chapter 3. Cade's confession that 'it’s one thing to hear about someone you loved dying and actually seeing it happen' was a gut punch. You can feel his pain coming off the page.
May 11, 2026
An unforgivable choice."
That phrase from the blurb haunts the whole opening. What did Cade do? Why can't he go back? I finished the first few chapters and immediately needed the rest. A total page-turner with a soul.
That phrase from the blurb haunts the whole opening. What did Cade do? Why can't he go back? I finished the first few chapters and immediately needed the rest. A total page-turner with a soul.
September 25, 2024
A pleasant easy read that grows more intense than I initially thought it would. A great first book by the author.
May 11, 2026
If you like authors who can describe a mountain range so well it makes your lungs ache, you’ll love this. The 'Winds' are calling Cade back, and I was right there with him.
April 26, 2026
A suspenseful way to overcome a major life event
I initially found the reading pace a little slow. The characters were interesting and the pace better in the 2nd half of the book. If you also seek solitude in more remote wilderness, this story will grab you even more. The Winds area were somewhat familiar to me and I enjoyed how the main character battled his demons while trying to survive winter in the back country. Aside from the initial pace, I also struggled with the main character being believable. Although his actions are in the realm of possibilities following the life altering tragedy that hit him, it just seemed a little far fetched.
I initially found the reading pace a little slow. The characters were interesting and the pace better in the 2nd half of the book. If you also seek solitude in more remote wilderness, this story will grab you even more. The Winds area were somewhat familiar to me and I enjoyed how the main character battled his demons while trying to survive winter in the back country. Aside from the initial pace, I also struggled with the main character being believable. Although his actions are in the realm of possibilities following the life altering tragedy that hit him, it just seemed a little far fetched.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews