How to Suffer Outside (Online)

Join Diana Helmuth, author of "How to Suffer Outside: A Beginner's Guide to Hiking and Backpacking," for an afternoon of hard-won hiking tips, tricks, and humor in this live Zoom talk. Whether you’re a casual walker, burgeoning hiker, or semi-experienced backpacker, this presentation will offer insightful advice and teach you how to venture outdoors with confidence.

Registration required.

Don’t have a smart device to view this Zoom talk? Contact the Library about using our Zoom equipment in the Waukee Meeting Room.

About the speaker:

Diana Helmuth has been in love with backpacking since she was a teenager and has hiked extensively throughout the western US, Europe, and Chile. She studied cultural anthropology at the University of California– Berkeley and the American University in Cairo. Her first book “How to Suffer Outside: A Beginner's Guide to Hiking and Backpacking” won the National Outdoor Book Award for Best Instructional. Her second book, “The Witching Year: A Memoir of Earnest Fumbling Through Modern Witchcraft,” was featured on NPR's All Things Considered, reviewed in The New York Times, and nominated for the 2023 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Memoir & Autobiography. In addition to her nonfiction, Diana have interviewed 150+ subject matter experts for Abrams' Books famous “Fifty Places” travel series, and regularly contributes to the pop culture blog “Pajiba.” You can learn more about Diana Helmuth at dianahelmuth.com.