A photograph of The Full Range: Essays from a Life Outside by Carolyn Highland. The book is pictured at an angle on the edge of a rustic wooden table.

Shaped by a Life Outside: Carolyn Highland

Written by: Grace Gorman

Published on October 21, 2026

Time to read 2 min

“The Full Range is a deep look into emotional awareness and personal growth. Often using free-range poetry and clipped prose, Carolyn Highland shares her psychological journey through various outdoor physical endurance challenges. With this collection of essays, she reflects on how her life has unfolded versus what might have been expected.”

—Marlis Butcher
author of Park Bagger: Adventures in the Canadian National Parks

Carolyn Highland is a writer and teacher with over 50 published essays in print and online, in publications such as Backcountry Magazine, The Ski Journal, A Worthy Expedition: The History of NOLS, Misadventures Magazine, The Leader, and the websites of Teton Gravity Research and the Outdoor Women’s Alliance, among others. She is a regular contributing writer to the Deuter blog and the NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) blog. Her writing has also been used in course readers on expeditions through NOLS, the Prescott College Outdoor Program, the Second Nature Wilderness Program, and NatureBridge. Carolyn received a BA in creative non-fiction writing from Northwestern University in 2012. Her essay “Parentage” won the Helen G. Scott Prize for Best Personal Essay from Northwestern’s English department that same year. She adventures all around the world, but is based in beautiful Anchorage, Alaska.

Photograph of Carolyn Highland in the mountains, taken by @chugachpeaksphotography. She is pictured smiling with mountains and a sunny blue sky behind her, wearing a sage green jacket with the hood up and a flat-brim hat underneath, orange gloves, and large reflective orange sunglasses. She is holding a ski pole.

NEW RELEASE FROM CAROLYN HIGHLAND...

THE FULL RANGE: ESSAYS FROM A LIFE OUTSIDE

A vivid and deeply personal collection of essays that reveals how time in wild places shapes our identity, illuminating moments of grit, awe, and profound change.

Embark on a journey into the wild with Carolyn Highland's The Full Range: Essays from a Life Outside. This compelling collection of 41 essays invites you to experience the world through the lens of outdoor adventure. From the thrill of backcountry skiing to the quiet solitude of a trail run, Highland captures the essence of life lived in nature.

These stories are not just about physical feats but also about the profound transitions of life—navigating relationships, finding oneself in new places, and embracing personal growth.

Cover image for The Full Range: Essays from a Life Outside by Carolyn Highland

With vivid prose and heartfelt reflections, The Full Range reminds us that life, like the wilderness, is a tapestry of complex and beautiful experiences. Perfect for outdoor enthusiasts, adventure seekers, and anyone seeking a deeper connection to themselves and the world around them.

NOW AVAILABLE!

A prepublication endorsement of The Full Range from author Marlis Butcher.

A prepublication endorsement of The Full Range from author Heather Hansman.

“In The Full Range, writer and adventurer Carolyn Highland explores just that: the full, unpredictable, and beautiful range of ways that wild places can weave into our lives. Through her own wide-ranging stories, she looks at how love of place, people, and our own persistence changes us for the better.”

—Heather Hansman
author of Fierce Country, Downriver, and Powder Days

Want a sneak peak into The Full Range?

Check out this excerpt posted on our Substack!

Read Excerpt on Substack

Text from an excerpt from The Full Range that was shared on Substack by Rocky Mountain Books.

PREVIOUSLY RELEASED...

OUT HERE: WISDOM FROM THE WILDERNESS

Carolyn Highland’s first book inspires a deeper connection to the wilderness and to ourselves, and will drive readers and outdoor enthusiasts to “get outside” and experience all that the natural world has to offer.

Out Here is a collection of essays that explores what the wilderness has to teach us about the human experience, using outdoor endeavours as extended metaphors for greater truths. Each carefully chosen piece embarks on a different physical and metaphorical journey: managing expectations and reality during a medical emergency in a 40-mile ski mountaineering race; staring down fear and consequences on exposed ski lines in Alaska; re-examining self-reliance and decision-making through heartbreak and snow science; and leaving room for unexpected magic as a female travelling through Patagonia.