Local author publishes second book on national parks

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I met to talk to Ren Brabenec about his new book, "Wilderness & Wonder: An Illustrated Guide to the National Parks."

I was met by a friendly guy rocking a flannel and outdoor pants. I guess this shouldn’t have surprised me considering he penned a book about national parks. Ren greeted me as we ordered our coffee at Turnbull Provisions in downtown Kingston Springs. He’s clearly a regular. He chatted with the barista as she made our drinks before sitting down noting that he's not normally the one being interviewed. Ren is a lot of things: a great writer, an activist, a Michigan native, a self proclaimed “country-bumpkin,” but what came through most during my short time with Ren was that he was a Kingston Springs local. He knew everyone who walked through the door of the coffee shop, just as a small town resident should.

Ren moved to Kingston Springs in 2016. His parents wanted to move south from Michigan for their retirement, and were looking for a small town outside of Nashville. Kingston Springs was the least developed of the towns that the Brabenec family looked at. It was the perfect place to be close to Nashville, but also one with nature. 

Ren has always had an affinity for nature. He grew up in a working class family, but his parents still thought it was important for their children to see the world. So, they homeschooled Ren and his sister, Echo, and traveled all over the country road-tripping to the different national parks. “I’ve probably seen more national parks in my adolescence than as an adult,” Ren said. This love for national parks was one of the driving forces for Ren’s hand in writing "Wilderness & Wonder: An Illustrated Guide to the National Parks."

He further emphasized the importance of the book he helped create: “Our opportunities for recreation and play are increasingly privatized and thus commodified. I wanted to collaborate on a book about one of our last, great, publicly owned resources where anyone, regardless of their income bracket, physical capacity, or experience level can get outside and see America’s stunning natural beauty. This book is meant to inform and inspire, to create the next generation of national park enthusiasts and custodians.”

“Every word in the book I wrote,” Ren said as he opened to a page about Grand Teton National Park (the full art page of which was the proof of concept for the whole book). He then flipped to the back of the book stating it was his idea to include a glossary because a book like this needed a glossary.

The coffee table book is a collaboration of three men over the course of roughly 18 months. The idea for the book was pitched by the creative director at Anderson Design Group (the publisher of the book), Joel Anderson in February of 2023. The book was finished by October of 2024. Despite the 18 month timeframe, the illustrator of the book, Kenneth Crane, has spent the last five years visiting, photographing and painting the parks. Initially Crane reached out to Anderson about the book with his illustrations which led Anderson to ask Ren to collaborate. Ren is a contractor for Nashville-based Anderson Design Group.

After a bit of reshaping to fit all three’s collective image of what the book should be, the project began. 

According to Ren, he spent about 50% of his time researching for the book and 50% of his time actually writing. He visited over a dozen parks during the 18 months it took to finiah the book. Anderson visited a similar number to Ren, and Crane has visited nearly all of them.

Between the three they have hit every national park in the book.

The book took arduous research and many meetings amongst the men, including interviewing each other about the parks each had visited. Ren also called park rangers at remote parks including his favorite, Isle Royale National Park.

“I learned so much about the jaw-dropping logistical capacity of the Park Service and their ability to think of everything,” Ren said of his conversations with the head ranger at Isle Royale. He continued, “But most importantly, I learned about the immense passion the National Park Service has for protecting a key part of our American heritage.”

Ren had a chance to visit Isle Royale with Crane during the research of their book, and plans to return again this summer.

This book is Ren's second with Anderson Design Group, releasing his first, "Legends of the National Parks," in 2023.

Ren doesn’t have a contract for another book yet, but he hopes that his next will solve a fundamental problem facing the national parks: over-visitation. He discussed the importance of all of the different areas protected by the National Park Service: “The 63 national parks are the flagship sites protected by the National Park Service, but that federal agency manages a little over 430 sites in total. These other sites are the lesser-known-yet-no-less-significant nature preserves, historic landmarks, monuments, and recreation areas. If I have an opportunity to collaborate on another book, it’ll be to write about these ‘best kept secret’ parks and tell the world about the iconic places hidden in the vast American landscape.”

A book like this is not something readily available currently, but it is Ren's goal to change that lapse in information available to the lovers of American national parks around the globe.

I left my interview with Ren Brabenec with a copy of a beautiful book and a revitalized vigor for exploration. It is yet to be seen what the next great work that flows from Ren's pen will be, but one thing is certain: Kingston Springs is lucky to have lured him to our neck of the woods.