Elk Love: A Montana Memoir
Now Available from She Writes Press
Having spent ten summers on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation near Glacier National Park, part of her doctoral fieldwork for a Ph.D. in Native American Art History at Columbia University, forty-two-year-old Lynne Spriggs thinks of Montana as her healing place. When she moves to “Big Sky Country” from the East Coast in a quest to reset her life, she has high hopes for what awaits her.
Great Falls, a farming and military town in central Montana, is not what Lynne imagined when she left city life behind. But her dream of being more connected to nature in the American West comes alive when she meets Harrison, a handsome rancher thirteen years her senior. Wary but curious, with her dog Willow by her side, she leans into the seasonal rhythms of his unfamiliar existence. In a modern world where listening is rare, Elk Love explores an intimate place where loneliness gives way to wonder, where the natural world speaks of what matters most.
2024 Journey Finalist, Chanticleer International Book Awards
Praise for Elk Love
“In all the love stories I love best, it is impossible to tell whether the real object of desire is the man, or the mountain he lives on, or the elk that stands on that mountain and bugles to his mate. So it is for Lynne Spriggs, who works her way into the hearts of all three with a savvy combination of curiosity, independence, and tenacity. In prose that is by turns rapturous, bawdy, hilarious, and serene, Elk Love sings a song of relationship; with the man, yes, but also with the Earth.”
—Pam Houston, author of Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country
“Elk Love is a beautiful memoir about love, grief, intimacy, and finding one’s place in the world. Throughout the vivid seasons and daily rhythms of rural Montana, Lynne Spriggs O’Connor deftly illuminates her own transformation through her unique relationship to this wild place and a man who makes his home there. Art, ranch life, and romance converge in this remarkable love story that distills the truth… and so much more.”
—S. Kirk Walsh, author of The Elephant of Belfast
—Sarabeth Bjorndahl
“Generous, frank, and fearless, O’Connor’s memoir is chock-full of lush imagery and magical encounters. Sometimes harrowing, sometimes hilarious, told with a perfect mix of humility and brio, Elk Love demonstrates what it means to endure, to sustain, to adore the fierce wildness of the world around us and to nurture that wildness in ourselves.”
—Kim Barnes, author of In the Wilderness, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize
—Jenniphr Goodman, Screenwriter and Director, The Tao of Steve
“I would heartily recommend Elk Love for any library memoir collection as well as for collections that exemplify the natural environment and how city dwellers who often castigate the culture of hunters and ranchers can actually learn to appreciate if not always agree with those cultural mores.”
—Toby P., Librarian 5/5 Stars
—Laura Munson, author of Willa’s Grove
—Page Lambert, author of In Search of Kinship
—Kirkus Reviews
—Christopher Wilson, Director, Audubon Conservation Ranching Initiative
“I devoured this enchanting book…. O’Connor has composed a lyrical memoir about the sensual landscape of animals, budding love, and the intrinsic wildness of it all. This unflinching saga teaches the ancient knowledge that hope begins again as we traverse the cycles of life and death.”
—Nani Power, author of Crawling at Night, New York Times Notable Book of the Year
—Amber Smith, Executive Director, Women in Ranching
—Five stars, Readers’ Favorite
“In all the love stories I love best, it is impossible to tell whether the real object of desire is the man, or the mountain he lives on, or the elk that stands on that mountain and bugles to his mate. So it is for Lynne Spriggs, who works her way into the hearts of all three with a savvy combination of curiosity, independence, and tenacity. In prose that is by turns rapturous, bawdy, hilarious, and serene, Elk Love sings a song of relationship; with the man, yes, but also with the Earth.”
—Pam Houston, author of Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country
“Generous, frank, and fearless, O’Connor’s memoir is chock-full of lush imagery and magical encounters. Sometimes harrowing, sometimes hilarious, told with a perfect mix of humility and brio, Elk Love demonstrates what it means to endure, to sustain, to adore the fierce wildness of the world around us and to nurture that wildness in ourselves.”
—Kim Barnes, author of In the Wilderness, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize
—Jenniphr Goodman, Screenwriter and Director, The Tao of Steve
—Nani Power, author of Crawling at Night, New York Times Notable Book of the Year
—Page Lambert, author of In Search of Kinship
—Kirkus Reviews
“Elk Love is a beautiful memoir about love, grief, intimacy, and finding one’s place in the world. Throughout the vivid seasons and daily rhythms of rural Montana, Lynne Spriggs O’Connor deftly illuminates her own transformation through her unique relationship to this wild place and a man who makes his home there. Art, ranch life, and romance converge in this remarkable love story that distills the truth… and so much more.”
—S. Kirk Walsh, author of The Elephant of Belfast
—Laura Munson, author of Willa’s Grove
—Christopher Wilson, Director, Audubon Conservation Ranching Initiative
“I would heartily recommend Elk Love for any library memoir collection as well as for collections that exemplify the natural environment and how city dwellers who often castigate the culture of hunters and ranchers can actually learn to appreciate if not always agree with those cultural mores.”
—Toby P., Librarian 5/5 Stars
—Five stars, Readers’ Favorite
—Amber Smith, Executive Director, Women in Ranching