Welcome to My World
I began my writing career in 1978 with "How to Prepare Common Wild Foods" and "School at Home, an Alternative to the Public School System". I have authored over 30 books, mainly nonfiction, during my 50-year career.
​
I had always wanted to write fiction. Now retired from my non-fiction career, I am wanting to share my autobiographic storytelling and fiction writing.
​
Thank you for visiting my site!
​
Look for my other books at https://www.amazon.com/books
For the Love of Guinea
In 1980, I was thirty years old, and my son, ten, when we traveled to Guinea, then a closed country in West Africa. My fiancé was a geologist working in a diamond exploration camp in Baoule Valley, near Kérouané. During my time there I kept a diary. Once back in the United States, I wrapped the diary in a silk scarf and tucked it away. I had had planned to return to Guinea and the diamond camp, but life took me in a different direction.
I didn't open and read the diary until autumn of 2023, forty-four years later. This book is based on the diary and letters sent home during that life-changing time of challenge, camaraderie, joy, and heartbreak.​​
​
​​ Sisters of a Different Dawn
Sisters of a Different Dawn is the tale of two women -- New Englander Sara Gray, daughter of a Methodist Episcopal minister, and an eastern Oregon Country Shoshoni, Umentucken. Both women strive to retain their individuality during a time when change threatens all that they had once believed to be truth. Set in the 1840s, Sara Gray and Umentucken have a common bond, Sara's brother Myram, who left their New England home years earlier to venture west as a trapper for the Hudson's Bay Company. Sara's own travels from Boston to Fort Hall in search of Myram are filled with adventure and hardships. Her biggest challenge, however, is Umentucken, as the women from two different worlds struggle to reach common ground.
The Rocky Mountain Wild Foods Cookbook
PUBLISHER'S INTRODUCTION
(Published by Caxton Publishers LTD)
​
Award winning author, chef and herbologist describes 28 plants common to the Rocky Mountains and the West and easy recipes for cooking those plants in the field. Easy to recognize wild foods are abundant in the Rocky Mountains and the West. Darcy Williamson describes plants common to the region and offers a selection of recipes. All emphasize health-conscious cooking, using fresh ingredients.
​
Review
"Easy to recognize wild foods are abundant in the Rocky Mountains and the West. Darcy Williamson describes twenty-eight plants common to the region (omitting endangered plants and those which are very tedious to collect) and provides an extensive selection of recipes using these delicacies from Nature's garden. All of the dishes emphasize health-conscious cooking, using fresh ingredients with low sugar and fat content. Williamson shares the best recipes from her test kitchen (beverages, jellies, soups, salads, stir-fry, breads, desserts) the possibilities are delicious. Illustrations of each wild plant are included to help you accurately identify them, and field preparation for each is outlined to assure fresh, quality ingredients for the chef." Midwest Book Review (Midwest Book Review) --Midwest Book Review
​​
About the Author
Darcy Williamson is a long time Idahoan, historian, naturalist, herbologist, outdoor chef and whitewater rafting expert who has written two other books published by Caxton Publishers LTD; Basque Cooking and Lore and Idaho River Tales.
​
​
The Care and Feeding of James
Janet had been longing for a work and sales space for her growing medicinal plant business, so when one day in April a real estate sign showed up in the parking lot of the vacated roadside café located in her small, hometown community of Wheeler’s Bend, she saw an opportunity. One major obstacle in fulfilling her vision was financing the project.
Janet found six women to join her in the purchase of the café. As the women struggled amid the hardships of working together in a faltering business, James, a small injured bird entered their lives. In the end, it was the care and feeding of James that changed everything.
River Tales of Idaho
Idaho's history centers, in many regards, on its rivers. Idaho has more free flowing water than any other state in the continental US. Idaho rivers have played an important role in the state's history, travel and commerce. River Tales of Idaho includes fifty eight stories that illustrate the importance of the state's streams to Native Americans, explorers, settlers, industry and recreationists.​
​
Great stories.
​
Great book to learn about Idaho rivers.
​
5.0 out of 5 stars River Tales of Idaho
For anyone interested in the history of Idaho and anyone concerned about the region's natural resources, Williamson's book contains fifty-eight vignettes of river tales and legends, old and new.
​
I purchased the book prior to a whitewater rafting trip on the Salmon River. It is really good and I enjoyed reading all the different stories.
Click Link to Purchase
Mountain Men of Idaho
74 Short Stories of Idaho's Mountain Men
76 pages, perfect-bound
They were hunters, trappers, bear fighters, Indian killers who lived off the land and survived annual rendezvous. The sun, the wind, the harsh winter climate tanned and dried and leathered their faces until those without beards (and there were a few) had to roll up their sleeves to bare white arms as proof of their Caucasian identity. The majority dressed more in Indian fashion than Indians. Fringed shirts. Buckskin leggings. Feathers. Beads. And bones. They wore their gee-gaws with pride ~ each trinket a memento of some rendezvous, Indian maiden, daring feat, or gift of friendship.
​
Possessions were bare essentials, scaled down so that all could be hastily gathered and spirited away at the first sight of trouble. Those over-encumbered easily lost the over-flow to Indians, if they didn't first, lose their lives trying to protect their property. It was a life of extremes. Days of hunger would quickly be forgotten while consuming ten pound of sizzling buffalo steak. A day of cold and misery could thaw before the blaze of campfires as the memory of its harshness trickled away with each sip of Old Jamaca rum. Loneliness would give way to wild get-togethers with rivals or friends. The men would become engorged on gaming, drinking, pitting wit against wit, and brawn against brawn that solitude would become, once again, a desperately needed state of being.
​
Mountain men were mountain men for the sheer joy of freedom, endurance and oneness with nature. Any one who said that it was for the money, lied.
The Medicinal Mushroom Beverage Book
(Kombucha, Shrub, Wine and more) Paperback
Darcy J. Williamson (Author), Brent Davy (Author),
Kevin Ryan (Author)
​
Medicinal use of mushrooms dates back thousands of years. Aside from their known tumor inhibiting properties, they also support the immune and nervous systems, manage blood sugar, boost brain health and cognition, reduce inflammation, and increase energy and stamina.
One of the most pleasant ways to consume medicinal mushrooms are in beverages. First of its kind, The Medicinal Mushroom Beverage Book, broadens the spectrum of beverage choices. Twenty chapters cover a brief synopsis of the medicinal benefits of nineteen mushrooms, followed by methods and recipes for incorporating them into ninety-five tasty, health-giving beverages.
​
Fabulous Wild Fungi (Wildly Creative Cuisine)
While there are over 14,000 mushrooms, only about 3,000 are classified as edible, more than 700 have known medicinal properties, and fewer than one percent are recognized as poisonous. Each edible mushroom has its own unique texture and flavor. Preparing mushrooms according to their individual characteristics brings out their distinct culinary assets. Some are best eaten raw, sautéed, baked, or added to soups or sauces. Other, especially those with high water content, need to be simmered or steamed.
There are those which have firm flesh and are best cooked slowly, or marinated and grilled.Fantastic Wild Fungi ~ Wildly Creative Cuisine guides you through the best way to prepare 22 species of wild edible mushrooms. The book offers over 200 recipes and hundreds of tips on when and where to find the different species, identification guide-lines, preserving your harvest for future use, and the nutritional and medicinal qualities of the mushrooms you eat.
Plant First Aid Along the Salmon River
(Middle Fork & Upper Salmon)
Idaho’s Upper Main and Middle Forks of the Salmon River flow through some of the most pristine wilderness in the lower 48 states. Rafting, drift boating and kayaking are exciting ways to experience these wild and scenic areas. However, being in a wilderness setting can provide first aid challenges. The medicinal plants thriving along the rivers' corridors provide much more relief than can be carried in even a well-stocked first aid kit. This guide provides the medicinal uses of forty-nine plants commonly found along these river corridors and their uses for treating over seventy-five ailments including poison ivy rash, sprains, wounds and whiplash. Each plant is described in detail, along with illustrations, black and white photos, and clues for determining positive identification. The guide includes the first aid plant's likely location campsite by campsite, from Teepee Hole on the Middle Fork to the Wind River Boat Ramp on the Upper Main. Detailed onsite application of the medicinal plants, along with campsite preparation and dosages is included.
Wild Foods of the Desert Cookbook
This book was written in hopes of unveiling one of America's best kept secrets - delicacies of the desert. The high and low desert areas of the southwestern United States provide a cornucopia of solid foods ranging from succulent fruits to rich nuts; spicy seasonings to exotic meats, juicy berries to tangy vegetables.For the hunter, backpacker or camper, these foods offer a welcomed addition to the camp menu. Once the outdoors-man becomes familiar with desert foods and their seasonal availability he can plan his provisions accordingly. The backpacker can lighten his load in anticipation of supplementing his diet with foods gathered along the trail. Each following chapter contains a section for the outdoors-man, providing simple methods of preparing wild desert plants and game out-of-doors.But, desert foods shouldn't be limited to use in the field! Their unique flavors and textures lend themselves to gourmet cooking as well. Wild foods from the desert can open a whole new dimension in food preparation and entertaining. Juniper berries, Pinyon nuts, acorn meal, pickled nopalitos and prickly pear jelly are a few of the wild desert foods which hold prominent positions on the shelves of specialty and gourmet shops. These same high priced delicacies are abundant in their natural habitat. The following chapters provide hundreds of rarely seen recipes offering the homemaker and gourmet cook a galaxy of fresh ideas for using desert foods.
​
Rocky Mountain Wild Wines
I had wanted to make homemade wine, but the process seemed too complicated until I came across a recipe, published in an outdated copy of Farmer's Almanac, for Dandelion Wine. The recipe contained no foreign sounding ingredients and the instructions were easy to follow. For a novice winemaker, such a recipe proved inspirational. My wines are flavorful and palatable even though they begin their existence in a cracked crock I purchased at a garage sale. The methods I employ in wine making are basic and unsophisticated. There are excellent winemaking books for the avid home winemaker. However, many novice wine makers, such as I, prefer to begin with the basics. Here are 75 of my favorite wild wine recipes to help inspire you.
Medicinal Camino (Plant First Aid Along the Way)
Book Review
The Camino de Santiago offer’s numerous challenges, but the plants along “The Way” not only make the journey more interesting but can bring relief from health issues that pilgrim may face during their journey.This book was written as a guide for every Camino pilgrim, regardless of their previous herbal plant knowledge. Fifty common plants found along the Camino Frances, address sixty-nine frequent health issues encountered by pilgrims, including blisters, sunburn, inflammation, headaches, colds, and sleep issues. Each plant is accompanied by a black and white illustration, detailed description, where found, part used and first aid instruction.
​
Although the plants found in this book represent those common along the Camino Frances, most will be found throughout much of Spain and Portugal. During the spring of 2017, Darcy Williamson walked the Camino Frances in remembrance of her deceased husband, Robert Sweetgall. Medicinal Camino, Plant First Aid Along “The Way” rose from that pilgrimage.
Darcy is an herbalist and author. During her fifty-year career, she has written over twenty books and taught more than one hundred and thirty apprentices the knowledge and preparation of backyard herbal medicine. Darcy continues to lecture and teach about the amazing healing benefits of plants.
