BOOK LAUNCH: Behind the Door: Profiles of a Peninsula with Kevin O’Donnell

Celebrate the official release of Kevin O’Donnell’s long-awaited book of photographs and essays Behind the Door: Profiles of a Peninsula. The event includes a short presentation by the author chronicling the seven year journey from the book’s inception to publication, a display of photographs from the book, a reading of excerpts from the book’s essays, and sale of autographed limited edition presentation copies and standard editions of the book. A portion of the proceeds from book sales will be donated to support Write On’s programs. The event is free and open to all; a light reception is included.

About the book:

Derived from the author’s decades of experience as a published writer, photographer, and story-teller, O’Donnell captures not only the unique light in the Door peninsula’s landscape, but the brilliance of its people. The photographs are complemented with essays and poems that explore the length and breadth of the peninsula, from tip to tail. The large format, 184-page beautifully bound hard-cover book contains over 140 photographs and 29 essays immersing the reader in a delicious concoction of the area’s history, culture, traditions, and people.

From “The Work We Embrace” through to “The Life We Live” each chapter gently pulls at the delicate threads that have contributed to the creation and continued evolution of the peninsula’s most uncommon tapestry with a sensitivity as satisfying as sipping on the delicious flavors of a perfectly mudddled brandy old fashioned.

“Maybe not since Norbert Blei’s Door Way has a single book presented the intricate fabric of Door County so expertly.” Albert DeGenova, poet and Executive Director, Write On, Door County.

About the author:

Kevin O’Donnell is an award-winning author and professional photographer, a YouTube content creator, a master story-teller, and a year-round resident of Door County. Retired since 2018 as a principal engineer in pharmaceutical transport packaging, his 37-year career led to considerable international travel. This kindled his interest in photography, histories, and landscapes throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas, about which he has written extensively. Kevin’s approach to his craft is to look beyond the visual reach of most others to capture in photographs and essays the unique cultural, economic, historic, and natural diversity within the environment. His photographs have been featured in numerous publications, including Wisconsin’s Great Waterways calendars, the Door County GO Guide, and multiple covers of the nationally distributed Irish American News.

As an author O’Donnell has written for several industry trade magazines and has two previous books, Fadó: A Memoir of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness (Xlibris) and Cold Chain Chronicles: A Practioner’s Outside-the-Box Perspectives on the Importance of Termperature-Sensitive Drug Stewardship (DHI Publishing). Winner of the “International Author of the Year Award,” from the Parenteral Drug Association, the book is used in academia by pharmacy schools, the World Health Organization, and throughout the pharmaceutical industry as a guide in vaccine quality management.

In support of his latest book project, O’Donnell launched a YouTube channel in 2021. “Behind the Door with Kevin O’Donnell” is part adventure vlog, part photographer’s workshop, and part history lesson. Each episode weaves a story of the diverse richness and beauty of the Door peninsula. Select episodes are referenced with a QR code throughout his book.