About the author
Jeff Golden, author of Unafraid: A Novel of the Possible, majored in agitation and righteous rhetoric at Harvard before dropping out in 1970 to learn how to take care of himself in the mountains of Southern Oregon. In 1978 he founded the Oregon Guides Association, the first labor organization representing whitewater river guides. After a decade of homebuilding, logging and river-guiding, he began a 30-year career as a public radio and television producer, opinion columnist, radio talk show host and commentator. His political career includes service as a Jackson County (OR) Commissioner, Chief of Staff to the Oregon Senate President, Environmental Policy aide to the City of Portland, and membership on many public and non-profit boards and commissions. He was Oregon's first Nominee for the JFK Profile in Courage Award and works in private practice as a conference speaker, mediator and strategic facilitator.
Jeff's earlier books include Watermelon Summer, which chronicles his 1970 journey from the Ivy League to Oregon’s backwoods; the political handbook As If We Were Grownups (http://www.asifweweregrownups.com); and Forest Blood (http://forestblood.com), the defining novel of the Northwest timber wars.
Jeff created, and now produces and hosts, Immense Possibilities, a weekly public television and Internet series that showcases inspiring initiatives to build strong local communities and generate realistic hope for a healthy future. IP takes inspiration from the words of Rev. Howard Thurman: "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Check it out!
Jeff lives in Ashland, Oregon and hangs out with his two adult children when they can spare the time (as in "Cat's in the Cradle").