Salmon Weather: Writing from the Land of No Return

by Cmarie Fuhrman

In the heart of Idaho's Salmon River Mountains, a woman unknowingly begins what becomes a journey of understanding. Haunted by personal loss and the complex history of the American West, she seeks beauty and understanding at alpine lakes, beside wild rivers, crosscountry skiing, on trails, and with her dogs. Here, amidst granite peaks and endangered beings, she confronts the challenges and awe of nature, the ethics of hunting, the past, an uncertain future, and the depths of her own being. As she navigates physical and emotional landscapes, she grapples with questions of identity, belonging, and the delicate balance between humanity and the wild.

This is more than a personal narrative; it is a powerful call for environmental awareness, the feminine, understanding of history, and a celebration of beauty. With unflinching honesty, CMarie Fuhrman examines the complexities of history, the sacredness of the land, and the urgent need to protect our wild spaces. These essays resonate with a deep reverence for Indigenous people, history, and the natural world. They will speak to anyone who has found refuge in nature, wrestled with the past, or dared to envision a brighter tomorrow.

Genres: Memoir, Essays, Nature

168 pages, Paperback

Published March 15, 2025

Reviews

[Erica Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Salmon Weather: Writing from the Land of No Return is a book about Idaho, Colorado, and the American West... about ranches, rivers, and starry nights... about wolves, bears, and birds. But at the end of the day, like most books that stay with me long after the reading, Salmon Weather is about a woman.

CMarie Fuhrman cracks open her life to show us the salmon weather within, all its moody skies and silver linings. This collection explores grief and growth, yes, but not as you've explored them before -- the honesty, integrity, and clear-eyed-ness of each essay's voice will shake you like a summer storm. As if from nowhere, and suddenly incredibly present.

I set out to quote a favorite passage but never chose one. Instead I recommend devouring it as-is, from start to finish, with the full-throated gulp of a rattlesnake.

[Chad Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unfortuately, I missed the book release event in the small mountain town CMarie Fuhrman calls home. Dad and husband duties called instead. Fortunately, I was able to pick up a copy in the local bookstore, which meant I could settle in over the next several days and read during my son's spring break. The falling snow matched the descriptor of the book's title found in the essay, "Letter Born of a Snowy Morning." I found reading this book a bit like running a marathon; I started off fast, too fast maybe to soak in the thoughtfulness of the words, then I settled in for a bit. I read and contemplated between chapters. Then, as I knew I was nearing the end of the book, my pace quickened again, turning every page like it was a turn in the trail. I reveled in the words, the sense of place. I could see her dogs and taste the fruit she sampled while hiking. In my mind I wondered if she and her partner would allow me to join them on one of their hikes to a backcountry lake? Not to fill the trip with conversation; instead to see, smell, hear, touch, and feel the beauty of the mountains in a way I haven't since the mid 1990's. Salmon Weather is a nature book, memoir, and adventure guide bound with a single spine.

[ruby · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5.

my professor let me borrow this book after we read "Coyote Story" together in class -- that chapter is undoubtedly a 5/5 btw. also up there fiercely competing with "Coyote Story" for the best chapter/short story i would say is "The Place Between the Stars". each story here is beautiful in its own regard, though some of the passages personally bored me. i get the slice-of-life sort of tone and the slow pace is to parallel the calm of nature, i just couldn't help it.

on the other hand, some of the passages also made me deeply emotional or struck me as just so gorgeous that i had to take a picture of them before i return it to my professor soon. so, on the whole, amazing little collection of short stories that i would recommend to everyone to read. just keep in mind that Salmon Weather is best read slowly and while mulling over the chapters.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am halfway through this splendid collection and I must say that reading the work of CMarie Fuhrman is much like communing with her at her side. She guides the reader with both ferocity and kindness, and also wonder. She points us to grand vistas and monumental ideas, and then, much like in an intimate conversation going deep into the late evening, she reveals a scar and tells the story just above her breath.

The body and rhythm of this work is in pace with Earth herself- the intricacy of the seasons- and much like those seasons, while each story is separate, they are all part of the same multifaceted conversation.

CMarie's work invites us into a vital relationship with herself, much like how she invites all of the world into herself. I haven't felt this connected to a book of essays in the natural world since Dillard's Pilgrim At Tinker Creek, which inspired me to be a writer in the first place. Salmon Weather will be worn down at the covers and read again and again.

[Marina Richie · Rating 5 out of 5]

To read Cmarie's gorgeous book of essays is to enter a wild remote part of Idaho of mountains, wilderness, whitewater, and canyons with your heart open to all that comes your way--from big strong winds bearing heartbreak, loss, and renewal of love to sunny meadows where you want to stay still forever breathing in sagebrush. Her writing is poetic. Sometimes her words are devastating in their brutal honesty of experience. She's brave, courageous, and unflinching--like a river rafter facing her danger head, riding the waves, and emerging into a deep pool.

[Beth Henshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delicious and delicate writing for a rugged life lived in the backcountry of Idaho. I loved the stories of Fuhrman grappling with her own indigenous identity and connection to the land, her dog adventures, and musings on human impact on the land. A thoughtful book worth reading.

[Adriane · Rating 5 out of 5]

lovely, intimate and inspiring. An essential work in the nature writing field.

[Lisa Stice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful essays of identity, heritage, history, place, nature, and how it all connects.

[kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a really lovely set of essays but the writing itself was so beautiful i was almost moved to tears at times. getting to talk to her afterwards was the cherry on top.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautifully written

[Charissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book should come with trigger warnings. It’s both super about fish and not at all about fish.