Chasing Lights

My name is Gunnar Branson and I am the author of Chasing Lights. I started writing the story of childhood in Alaska when my wife of thirty years left me. I then moved across the country and discovered a new freedom in the final third of life. Fortunately, I was guided by the first journey of my life lit by the Northern Lights.

I discovered that  the small things, the ordinary lives lived in an impossibly big world under the Lights are what really matter. My childhood was on the edge of the world. Later in life, when I failed to be important enough to hold it together, the story guided me to a better life where smallness is embraced and happiness more abundant.

No one is ever important. All of us are always important. The Northern Lights tell us that both statements are true.

Too much time is spent avoiding disruption. We try to keep things normal, safe, and predictable. Just like dental surgery, disruption is hard, painful, and frightening…but when we just get on with it, life gets better.

Disruption happens many times in everyone’s  life. I hope that reading this book will help you see how much disruption is a gift. Of course, disruption can’t be controlled. The world does what it does to you. Even as disruption takes away, it teaches, it elevates, it brings you to something greater. As with the Northern Lights, human beings can’t possibly know or control the forces that shape us, but we can grow in their light.

Stories of the Lights guided me then and now. I hope this book will help you see your own story, not as just a struggle, but as an adventure. Adventures are not just for impossible fictional heroes, but for ordinary people who face depression, disappointment, and desire. Adventure happens when small lives touch something bigger.

I hope Chasing Lights will instil in you the same sort of passion and excitement that I have for even the smallest touches of a very big world. Ultimately, I want it to help you see the Lights.

You will love this book if you wonder about what a real frontier might be like, if you have ever had to change course in your life, and if you love the poetry of small things in a big world.

Chasing Lights is a nonfiction book that speaks to fans of coming-of-age stories and to those facing changes later in life who are looking at changes in their own lives and the world around them for the first time.

My Publishing Journey: Where Your Support Goes

I’m publishing Chasing Lights with the support of Manuscripts Press, an innovative publisher that provides me with a full publishing team to bring this book to life. This fall, I’m working closely with:

• A revisions editor, copy editor, and proofreader to refine and elevate every story in the book
• A marketing strategist to help me connect with new audiences and make the book’s message reach those who need it most.
• A cover artist and layout editor who will ensure the final product is visually stunning and professionally produced.

Other Ways to Support Me

Some people just can’t contribute, but that doesn’t mean they can’t help:

• Please share my presale campaign on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn with your friends, family and network. Please use #ChasingLightsBook and tag me so we can help amplify your efforts.
• Please recommend my book to five (5) friends, family members, or co-workers who you think would enjoy it via text or direct message on social media.

Thank you so much for all of your love and support!

Gunnar

About the Author

Gunnar Branson is CEO of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate, but he didn’t always wear a suit and tie. He was an actor on stage, radio, and television, and authored six different plays that only a few people saw. He also worked several jobs to pay the rent. Over thirty years, day-jobs became an unlikely career in commercial real estate, professional services, finance, and association leadership.

Gunnar loves writing, but he enjoys narrating even more. That’s why he recorded Chasing Lights as a podcast before it was a book. He has lived most of his life in the “Lower 48”, but will always be an Alaskan.