Brad Orsted’s story is a classic American tale of healing and redemption. Emotionally wounded by the loss of a child, he is driven to near madness accompanied by drugs and alcohol. Fortunately, encounters with the wild help him not only recover, but lead him to a new profession as an author and wildlife filmmaker.
Brad tells his amazing story in his recently release book, Through the Wilderness: My Journey of Redemption and Healing in the American Wild. Grizzly bear activist and author Doug Peacock said, “He has written bravely, with an unguarded heart, of this dangerous journey.”
Brad Orsted’s instinct for storytelling started early when someone gave him a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera as a child. Decades later Brad’s passion for wildlife cinematography and photography would not only earn him work with top networks such as Nat Geo Wild, The BBC, PBS, Nature, and The Smithsonian Channel, but also become part of his recovery after the tragic death of his daughter, Marley. Brad is hard at work on his second book and his wilderness therapy programs also called Through the Wilderness.
Brad’s film with Jeff Bridges and Doug Peacock, The Beast of Our Time, recently won Best Environmental Film Award at the prestigious L. A. Doc Film Festival. A second film is in the making.
