Anchorage’s Dan Bigley will visit Kenai Peninsula College to share his autobiographical book, “Beyond the Bear: How I Learned to Live and Love Again After Being Blinded by a Bear,” on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 6 p.m.
Published in 2013, the book details his recovery from a brown bear mauling that took place in 2003, when Bigley was on a fishing trip to the Russian River from his home in Girdwood. The early part of the book describes the impact of angler fishing at the Kenai-Russian River complex and how carcasses left aside by anglers draw bears to a region in Southcentral where they don’t typically harvest their own fish, according to citations in Bigley’s book.
Bigley describes his story as one of resiliency that showcases the role community support played in his recovery. He also describes it as a love story. He met his wife, Amber, just before the 2003 incident. They were married in 2006 and now have 15-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son.
The community he refers to includes a variety of social support: friends, family, medical teams, the community of Girdwood where he lived at the time, the academic community that he found while studying to receive a Master of Arts in social work through the University of Alaska Anchorage, and his current work community.
Bigley is now the president and CEO of Denali Family Services, a community behavioral health center for kids and families based out of Anchorage and Wasilla.
Bigley said he and his family still spend as much time as possible outdoors.
“We spend a lot of time up on Rainbow Lake in the summertime because Amber’s parents live up there. We also still spend a lot of time around the campfire. We do get out fishing on the Kenai every year during the sockeye run, and if we’re lucky, maybe we’ll get out on the Kasilof River or the early king run,” he said.
He also plays guitar and does a lot of singing and song-writing and has released a studio album, “Cedar Roots.” Bigley is currently working with screenwriters and producers to create a film version of “Beyond the Bear.”
Bigley said a second thread to the story relates to how he understands disability, measured not so much by physical limitation but “by how much you disengage from living life fully,” he said.
“The more you stay engaged in the things you love in life — whether it’s little things like playing hide and go seek with your kids and playing guitar, or the big things like, getting your master’s and going on to have a successful career with work that provides meaning and purpose — that the more you engage, sort of the bigger your life becomes. And the bigger your life becomes, the smaller your disability.”
The event at the college is free but with limited seating so the college recommends arriving early. Kachemak Bay Campus website notes that this event is made possible in partnership with South Peninsula Hospital Health and Wellness, the Homer Foundation, the Homer Rotary Club and the Driftwood Inn.
