My Montana Summer

By: J. Carl Laney

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

I suppose that every person has a story to tell about the time when they transitioned from being a teenager to becoming a young adult. This is usually referred to as a "coming of age" experience. Often the experiences during this early period of life are formative in the development of the person's character, values, and beliefs.

This is a book about my "coming of age" experience in Kalispell, Montana, where I worked for the summer in a plywood mill. I was just 17 years old and was living hundreds of miles from home in a boarding house with other working men. I don't think my mother would have let me leave home if she had known what was in store for me during the summer of 1965.

My Montana Story is the personal account of my adventure as a young man, growing into adulthood. It is the story of my first love, my passion for work, and the beginnings of my spiritual quest. I tell about making plywood, the interesting people I met at the boarding house, and the wise counsel I received from a Catholic priest. In the last chapter of the book, I share the salient lessons I learned from my summer in Montana and how they have helped make me the person I am today.