Pounders

by Josh Barkey

POUNDERS tells the story of a pair of brothers who venture into the wilderness of northern Canada for what the BBC has called one of the toughest jobs on the planet. Author Josh Barkey draws on a decade of summers spent in the world of industrial reforestation to bring you this visceral tale of love, loss, and hand-planted trees.

340 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 29, 2016

About the author

Josh Barkey was raised from diapers to diploma in the Amazon Basin of Peru, South America. He then paid for an English degree by sticking hundreds of thousands of baby trees into Canadian dirt, and now lives in a shed in North Carolina, arranging words into stories and screenplays.

Reviews

[Anna MacDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was lent to me by a planter- it allowed me a glimpse into his summers (but a little different of course).

[Ian Pascoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy this book as a 7 year planter/crew boss. I find the writing style a little bit loose, but I think that reflects the attitude of Jude as a young naive person entering the world that is treeplanting. I went planting with my older brother too, so that all strikes a chord with me too. The end is absolutely gut wrenching, and has made me tear up every time I read it. I relate to getting frustrated with a brother planting, but am very thankful nothing like these two happened. I just pray that the ending is not from his own experiences, as that is truly horrifying. I plant with both my brothers now, and am always wary of cliffs.