Exruciating Hike Leads to Mother’s Day Inspiration for Councilwoman Merrilee Boyack

A conversation with Councilwoman Merrilee Boyack is far from dull. Her voice is like a rollercoaster—rising and falling with every fast-paced detail. Her newest book, Waterfall Memories: A Parable of Motherhood, is similar.

“My friends say they can hear me talking when they read it,” Boyack said.

More of a booklet, the story tells of the trials and treasures of motherhood, which Boyack compares to a hiking experience she had in Yosemite National Park a couple of years ago.

“I’d just had massive surgery, and my husband had me hiking up to a waterfall,” she said.

When looking back on that hike, however, Boyack said it’s not the moments of complete exhaustion she remembers, but rather the “absolutely stunning” waterfall at the end of the trek—and that the same is true of motherhood.

“Because we don’t remember the pain,” she said. “There are parts that are very hard and challenging, and yet we remember the thrilling parts at the end of the rainbow.”

Waterfall Memories, which Boyack says is meant to be an alternative to a Mother’s Day card, can be ordered here.