Book: Forget Me Not

Alex Lowe is as much a Bozeman icon as the twirling horse bucking above the downtown Army Navy store. Alex was loved and admired by not just the community of Bozeman, but climbers, adventurers, travelers, and wanderlusters worldwide. He and his wife Jennifer, as well as their three sons, led a life of passionate adventure laced with risk and reward. Unfortunately when an avalanche took his life in 1999, Jenni and the boys’ lives were changed forever, as was the life of close friend and climbing partner, Conrad Anker.

Forget Me Not (Mountaineers Books; $25) is a sweet, honest, and heartfelt recount of Jenni’s life, from riding her beloved horses bareback in the hills surrounding her hometown of Missoula, to a nomadic early existence with Alex, to a life full of colorful paintings and violin recitals in Bozeman, and finally creating a loving family out of grief with Anker. Jenni’s words flow freely and truthfully, recounting both good and bad, pain and joy in her life with Alex. What is perhaps most poignant is her love of place, of Montana, of the wildflower fields of her youth and summer days spent with her grandmother in the land she loves. This is a story of true love, in many different regards.