A Field Guide to the Subterranean: Reclaiming the Deep Earth and our Deepest Selves

by Justin Hocking

A radically inventive excavation of one man’s life and our relationship to the earth, by the critically acclaimed author of The Great Floodgates of the Wonderworld.

Justin Hocking grew up in a part of Colorado where many things happened beneath the surface—mining exploits, underground nuclear testing just thirty miles from his family’s home, and geothermal activity that heats one of the world’s largest hot spring pools. His homelife, too, was plagued by hidden patterns of abuse and virulent masculinity. A Field Guide to the Subterranean charts the author’s lifelong process of unearthing the past to reclaim his own identity and connection to the natural world.

How might we transform our traumas into deeper care for one another and the landscapes that sustain us? How do we transcend the mythos of the rugged American male so rooted in extraction and exploitation? And how far can we move beyond the self in a memoir? Hocking explores these and other vital questions by combining his own personal introspection with expansive narratives that examine geology, ecology, gender theory, mining history, labor rights, and even skateboarding.

Abundant with historical research and teeming with birdlife—and ranging in location from remote caves and mountains to secluded surf breaks in Costa Rica—A Field Guide to the Subterranean heralds a boldly original and kaleidoscopic approach to the genre of both memoir and nature writing.

Genres: Memoir, Nature, Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published June 10, 2025

Reviews

[Jesen · Rating 4 out of 5]

fascinating fascinating fascinating. love the combo prose-essay

[Madeline]

Glenwood Springs, healing from sexual abuse, and interspersed reflections on extractive mining practices in Colorado. short and thoughtful book!

[Lucy Seward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Splendid, beautiful, and profound. In a "Subterranean Guide," Justin Hocking braids a tale of abuse, PTSD, anxiety, and nature, and, in doing so, creates an elegiac paean (if that's a thing) to lifelong recovery, exploration, and growth.

So impressive is Hocking's courage, vulnerability, and self-reflection. Although occasionally, Hocking's conceptual flex seems a tad bit strained, e.g., when he notes his recurrent "major depression" six months after his wedding, and then segues to "reclamation" of lands damaged by mining, his ability to see and articulate connections informs this read and, by extension, informed, enriched, and expanded my perspective on life in general.

Words to remember: "Just as so many of us thrive in bodies with chronic illness or without certain abilities, though, we will continue finding ways to create meaningful lives, mosaic identities, and networks of care on a radically altered planet. It may look grim at times, but the future is still ours to dream."

Word.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admit, I thought this book was about spelunking when I picked it up from my local library. I committed the classic sin of judging a book by its cover and not paying close enough attention to the tiny words on its upper right: a memoir. So I went into this book expecting tight passageways, cave paintings, mining disasters, and blind/translucent animals. I was very confused at the start as we got more personal than expected and spent more time digging down mentally rather than physically. Still, I was committed at this point, and I stayed along for the ride, sometimes on the author's surfboard, skateboard, or hike. It wasn't bad. While it may not be a guide to safely spelunking, if you're looking to descend into your own dark thoughts and confront the creepy crawlies inside, sign up for Justin Hocking's tour.

[Jordan Byrd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled with how to rate this one. 60% of it was 5-stars but 40% of it was 2-stars for me.

There was some masterful writing in here, but some that was so convoluted, with metaphor stacked on metaphor or vague references it was hard to follow what was actually being said. The structure (some chapters only a page long) and switching narratives made it a bit hard to follow at times. A few of the longer narratives, like the outward bound experience were excellent.

I got to the end and thought it was an overall decent book and I know it's a memoir, and maybe I'm too literal, but I expected to learn a bit more about subterranean earth and not just the inner personal experience. If that's why you picked it up (like me) you will be disappointed.

[tonia peckover · Rating 5 out of 5]

(all books get 5 stars) This book is as much about the form as it is the writing. Hocking uses a braided narrative technique that allows him to tell his story in short, nonlinear fragments. This form echoes his use of mining as a metaphor and framework. It is as if he is going underground and bringing up memories and connections and laying them out for us to see. All these fragments are connected, all originating from the same source - one that affects Hocking culturally and personally - but this is not obvious at first. He seems to want our patience. Here is a nugget, here is another, here is one more, do you see the connection? Reading it, I was struck with how honest this approach can be, as opposed to a more familiar linear narrative where the writer has ordered and deciphered the story for the reader. Hocking has ordered his too, of course, but the fragmentation and the frequent disruption of the time line ask the reader to see patterns instead of conclusions. It's in keeping with Hocking's own self-questioning style in which he recalls his memory, analyzes it, then stops and thinks again about the underlying stories, the fragments he has not yet discovered or brought into the light. A lovely book that is not only memoir but cultural critique and nature writing as well.

[Shilo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was seriously enthralled by A Field Guide to the Subterranean and read through it, sometimes aloud to my partner in less than a week which is hard to do when you're teaching 4 comp classes. The combination of personal insight was juxtaposed against a deep and rough history of mining in Colorado in areas that we just visited and drove through. And learning about the miners wars against the barons of the time was captivating. Utterly fascinating. I'll be keeping and recommending this one for a long time into the future.

[Wayne Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Field Guide” is a riveting example of a memoir that reaches deep and wide. There’s self at the center: Hocking’s distinctive gentle voice so honest and forthcoming, unapologetically human; a very individual struggle with trauma and its legacies. And there’s an expansive and rigorous connection to the world, to history, to the earth. This is a refreshing and welcome reimagining of masculinities—as a different relationship to the natural world, a peaceful cohabitation not without wonder—in a social order that supplies mostly destructive and imperialist ideologies.

[April Alexis Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing a memoir like this takes guts and a willingness to be so vulnerable, and Justin really knocked it out of the park. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down.

I truly feel so honored to have been one of the students in the memoir writing class that is referenced towards the end of the book. I always think fondly of that class, and I thank Justin for encouraging us all to try to be vulnerable in our own writing as well. I am a better writer because of him.

[Naava Guaraca · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 probably, I absolutely devoured this. It’s all I did today. I haven’t been so captivated by a book in months and god does it feel good.

So much of this resonated with me, particularly the parts about mental health.. I feel like this book found me at the exact right moment. Loved the way each chapter/fragment felt like its own individual world, even when it was the continuation of a longer narrative component. I learned so much and looked up all the birds and now I want to go to costa rica

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Justin Hocking's powerful new memoir traces what he has described as a Dante-esque path patterned, in overarching structure, on "The Divine Comedy." On the way, he grapples with demons both personal and cultural, inviting readers along on his deeply insightful journey from subterranean Inferno to sky-opening Paradise.

[Peter Rock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can "paradise" only ever exist in the imagination? If so, what critical omissions or substitutions perpetuate the fantasy?

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ARC

[booksbymonth · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting take on a memoir.

[Debs · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars