The Salmon Way
An Alaska State of Mind
By Amy Gulick
Published May 2019 from Braided River
Alaskans have deeply personal relationships with their salmon. These remarkable fish provide a fundamental source of food, livelihood, and identity, and connect generations and communities throughout the state. Yet while salmon are integral to the lives of many Alaskans, the habitat they need to thrive is increasingly at risk from large-scale development that threatens both the fish and valued ways of life. As communities wrestle with how best to ensure that both salmon and people prosper in today’s world, it is clear that Alaskans are united in their desire for their salmon relationships to continue. Forever.
Intrigued that there is still a place in the world where the lives of people and salmon are inextricably linked, writer and photographer Amy Gulick ventured to Alaska to explore the web of human relationships that revolve around these remarkable fish.
“The Salmon Way offers us an engaging visual feast that reminds us that salmon and people shared Alaska for thousands of years, and still can if we fight for them...”
—David R. Montgomery, author of King of Fish
About the Author
Writer and photographer Amy Gulick has received numerous honors including a Lowell Thomas Award from the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation, the Daniel Housberg Wilderness Image Award from the Alaska Conservation Foundation, and the Voice of the Wild Award from the Alaska Wilderness League. She is the recipient of both the Mission Award and the Philip Hyde Grant Award from the North American Nature Photography Association. Her first book, Salmon in the Trees: Life in Alaska’s Tongass Rainforest (Braided River, 2010) is both a Nautilus and Independent Publisher Book Award winner. She lives with her husband on an island in Puget Sound.
Recent successes
2020 Independent Publisher Book Awards Silver Award— West-Pacific, Best Regional Nonfiction category
2019 Nautilus Book Awards Silver Award— Animals & Nature category
2019 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards Silver Award— Nature category
Kirkus Reviews Best Indies Books of 2019
“Amy Gulick has perfectly captured the significance—so much more than food—of salmon to Alaskans in The Salmon Way. Her exquisite photos and respectful portraits and investigations take us into the lives of salmon people all over the state to remind us just how central salmon are to our identities, livelihoods, cultures, communities, and spirits. This book is a celebration and—without saying so—a prayer to our best selves to take care of what takes care of us.”
—Nancy Lord, former Alaska Writer Laureate, author of Fishcamp and editor of Made of Salm”n
“A truly great and very fishy book.” —Ray Troll, Fin Artist
UPCOMING EVENTS
The Salmon Way Exhibit now on display at The Seattle Aquarium. Get tickets here.
Partners
SalmonState
Amy Gulick