The Lakes In My Head:
​Paddling An Unexplored Wilderness

This true story chronicles the author's life from her mid-life diagnosis of congenital hydrocephalus, through her acceptance of all of her medical conditions, with generous sprinklings of her knowledge of medicine, the natural history of Minnesota, and faith.

This story is available in paperback and e-book formats.
Picture
Photo by Steve Glennon at Minnehaha Creek in 2017

About The Book

At the age of forty-five, Lesli is diagnosed with a condition she was born with but never knew about. This knowledge changes her life and she is forced to answer some tough questions to get her through the next ten years. What is hydrocephalus? Why am I being diagnosed with it now? How is it affecting the way I live and my future?

Lesli hopes that by sharing her story, others in similar situations of tough medical diagnoses will be encouraged and strengthened on their life journeys, while learning a little about the flora and fauna of central Minnesota and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.
Excerpt:

“There are many ways to get into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Getting there all depends on which direction you're coming from--Canada, the Dakotas, Wisconsin, or Iowa. I have lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota almost all of my life, so my trips usually began in the Twin Cities...There was one turn-off that did not appear on my map: when I was forty-five years old, I slipped and fell on a wet concrete floor while working in a veterinary hospital...and landed flat on my face...I had to wait a few days for the results of my [MRI] scan...A few evenings later, while cleaning up at work after a long day, I received a phone call from my family physician. She apologized for calling me at work, saying, 'You have hydrocephalus, Lesli, and the only treatment I know of is surgical placement of a shunt.'.. Wow. What do you say to someone who's just told you you will likely need brain surgery?”
Picture
Photo by Lesli C. Anderson on July 28, 1983 at the southwest arm of Cache Bay, Saganaga Lake, Canada
"Anyone who dives into The Lakes In My Head, can clearly tell from this autobiographical recollection that Lesli is a brilliant, experienced, and accomplished woman, and that she has a captivating story of loss, change, and an iron-clad relationship with God to share with the reader that is well worth telling."
--Pacific Book Review
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"The book resonates with accounts taken from Anderson's personal journals. In addition to her own health issues, she describes the 'adventures' of caring for parents. This book will appeal to any reader at this stage of life, either the caregiver or an aging person. Anderson credits her can-do spirit to an ability to deal with emotional issues and her firm trust in God. Timely help and succor arrived along the way, always sufficient for the next paddle, the next portage, the next campsite, the next lake." --The US Review of Books