Mary Emerick started a successful kayak ranger program in Southeast Alaska, where she lived for seven years. Prior to becoming a kayak ranger, Mary Emerick traveled around the country fighting wildfires, giving cave tours, planting trees and conducting wilderness patrols. She is the author of the novel The Geography of Water and Fire in the Heart: A Memoir of Friendship, Loss and Wildfire. Her writing has also appeared in anthologies, national and international magazines, and regional and local publications. An essay was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2011. She currently is a wilderness and recreation specialist with the US Forest Service in Northeast Oregon, and continues to kayak whenever she can. Her website is located at http: //maryemerick.com.