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Forever Grateful
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Forever Grateful is award-winning author Larry Lee Kruckenberg’s rich and nostalgic journey through the landscapes, people, and moments that shaped his life. Rooted in the rolling prairies and quiet coulees of North Dakota’s “Big Bend Country,” this collection of 60 heartfelt chapters and 80 photographs blends personal memoir, local history, and the enduring beauty of the Northern Great Plains.
Kruckenberg reflects on childhood wanderings, the companionship of faithful bird dogs, the resilience of rural communities, and the deep ties of family and tradition. Through stories both tender and rugged, he reveals how a place can become inseparable from the person who grows up in it – how land, memory, and identity intertwine.
These pages speak to anyone who has ever felt anchored by a landscape, moved by the rhythms of nature, or shaped by the generations who came before. Outdoor enthusiasts, history buffs, and readers of all kinds will find themselves at home in these stories.
Forever Grateful is ultimately an invitation to return to the places – real or remembered – that shaped who we are; and to pause, reflect, and rediscover the quiet power of belonging.
Come home to the prairie, wherever yours may be.
More In The Big Bend Series
Biography
Larry Lee Kruckenberg is a native son of Big Bend Country. He is a descendent of Germans from Russia immigrants who arrived in Mercer County in the late 1800s and early1900s and he spent nearly half his life there. He still returns often and continues to make memories at a place that has profound meaning to him and his family. If Kruckenberg has any regrets, it’s that he didn’t ask enough questions of his elders while growing up. That was a driving force for him launching the “Big Bend Country” book series in 2020, which now includes five separate titles. The latest – Let’s All Join Hands: The War Years, Prohibition, and Prosperity 1916-1929 – makes this series the most robust historical examination of this storied region of North Dakota ever published. The central tenants of Kruckenberg’s books are detailed research combined with a unique knack for storytelling. That ability has earned him recognition and awards, as well as a strong following of loyal readers. Kruckenberg earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from North Dakota State University and is a member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America. He and his wife, Roene, currently reside in Cheyenne, Wyoming.