Book Review: ‘The Restorers’

The Tale of a River Trip

By Alan Mapes

People who love rivers will find interesting ways to protect those rivers. One way to draw attention to a great river is to take part in a multiday paddling trip. Brook Lenker found a new twist on that theme – he’s written a novel based on a long river trip. His new book, “The Restorers,” is set on the Susquehanna River and features a 556-mile trip called the “Odyssey.” This imagined paddle trip makes a great backdrop for the camaraderie, humor and romance between the crew of paddlers.  It also makes a great way to share the author’s love of the river. 

Brooke Lenker clearly knows about rivers and river paddling trips. The author grew up exploring the waters of Pennsylvania and has spent much of his work-life protecting them though education and advocacy. He worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as its Manager of Education and Outreach. He currently is Executive Director of FracTracker Alliance, addressing the human health and environmental risks of oil and gas development across the country.

Things happen on river paddling trips, especially on long multiday trips with large groups of people. I saw this firsthand on my own “Great Hudson River Paddle” trip. The central character in Brook Lenker’s new novel, Reily Watters, finds lots of things happening on his paddle from Cooperstown to Havre de Grace at the head of the Chesapeake Bay. Old friendships are strengthened and new ones forged, people fall in love, and sinister forces are afoot. 

Reily’s trip on the Susquehanna River may be drawn from the actual river trips that were conducted each year for a longtime under the name “Susquehanna Sojourn.” The sojourn trips were somewhat less epic, featuring different sections of the 444-mile river each year.

My own river trip covered 140 miles in ten days, but the feel of the trip was similar. The group was up early and on the water. We shared dinners and breakfasts together, hosted by communities and environmental organizations along the way. Camping each night was arranged at riverfront parks. The author nicely captures my favorite part of a paddle trip – the chance to chat with and get to know new people each day as they paddle up beside your boat and travel next to you for a while.

As the book follows the river trip, it features a conservation struggle involving plans to develop a second home community on a sensitive ridge overlooking the river. Many forces come into play – a developer of questionable standards, a construction outfit with big city connections, and small-town politicians.

Mr. Lenker does a great job at capturing the mood of a trip like this, the human interactions, the spender of nature all around, and the transformations felt by the participants as they paddle long days, camp each night, and socialize in the evenings. 

Published by Year of the Book Press, “The Restorers” is available at Amazon.com or from the author at brooklenker.com. Better yet, you can get a copy and chat with Brook at the upcoming Adirondack Sports Summer Expo at the Saratoga Springs City Center on March 21-22.

Real-life guided river trips are huge productions to organize. Neither the Susquehanna River nor Hudson River trips are running this year, but people interested in a similar trip should check out the Delaware River Sojourn at delawareriversojourn.com. That trip will be June 20-29 this year from Hancock, NY to Riegelsville, NJ.

Alan Mapes (alanmapes@gmail.com) is a kayak instructor and guide, certified by the American Canoe Association. He lives near Saratoga Springs and offers kayak instruction through Capital District Kayakers Meetup.