Finding My Way Home: Fighting Depression Backpacking in Central Florida

After losing more than 100 pounds, Rob Rogers, a lawyer and self-described "desk jockey," decided to try backpacking at a state park near his Central Florida home. This followed an impulse purchase of a tent and backpack, despite having not camped since adolescence. When the recurrence of severe depression forced him to take a medical sabbatical, he discovered that backpacking in the Central Florida wilderness helped him cope with his inner demons; it also fostered a love affair with the natural spaces near his home. In Finding My Way Home, Rob details the adventure of learning to solo backpack in local state parks and forests, including Lake Louisa State Park, Lake Kissimmee State Park, the Withlacoochee State Forest, and the Green Swamp. He also describes in vivid and at times frightening detail his struggles to cope with bouts of melancholy and intermittent explosive disorder.