City of Belmont - Ruth Faulkner Public Library

Beyond the bear, Dan Bigley and Debra McKinney

Beyond the bear

Dan Bigley and Debra McKinney

BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY. A 25-year-old backcountry wanderer, a man happiest exploring wild places with his dog, Dan Bigley woke up one midsummer morning to a day full of promise. Before it was over, after a stellar day of salmon fishing along Alaska s Kenai and Russian rivers, a grizzly came tearing around a corner in the trail. Dan barely had time for bear charging to register before the bear had him on the ground, altering his life forever. Upper nose, eyes, forehead anatomy unrecognizable, the medevac report said. Until then one thing after another had fallen into place in Dan s life. He had a job he loved taking troubled kids on outdoor excursions. He had just bought a cabin high in the Chugach Mountains with a view that went on forever. He was newly in love. After a year of being intrigued by a woman named Amber, they had just spent their first night together. All of this was shattered by the mauling that nearly killed him, that left him blind and disfigured

Beyond the bear, how I learned to live and love again after being blinded by a bear