Community is one of the most important parts of living in mountain towns. Living in towns with only a few populations just over 10,000 require members to lean on each other for things not readily available, which Eric Westerlind understands very well. 

Growing up in Boulder meant coming over the mountains to see his extended family in the west and Westerlind has lived in the valley for a little while, moving from Seattle after the pandemic back down to where his family settled. 

“My wife and I moved down to be closer to my family,” Westerlind said. “Now we take care of the animals and we’re doing well.”

Westerlind works at Wild Coffee Roasters in Silt, where he makes coffees, mentors the younger employees, and talks with patrons about their thoughts as much as possible. 

Since receiving his degree in creative writing in the late 2000s, Westerlind’s been working to create a community for writers wherever he goes, despite his own internal struggles.

“The better I got at writing, the more protective I became of it,” he said. “Writing is a craft that requires you to be vulnerable in front of other people and it’s uncomfortable.”

Writing is, Westerlind said, something that can always be improved, no matter how long or hard you work on a piece.

“Writing for me is calm, it puts my mind at ease and I have to do it, whether it’s writing my novel, DND campaigns, or about flies,” Westerlind said. 

While Westerlind has been working at Wild Coffee, he said he’s met a number of people who write or do other creative endeavors. 

“I have around 15 or so authors right now who have given me a book to read,” he said. “If you’ve asked, you’re in my queue, and I will get to you.”

Westerlind also works as an editor, which he says is a way for him to understand people better and reflect on himself. 

“When someone gives me their writing, I assume that this person is giving me the best they can give at that moment,” he said. “It takes a lot to give someone a part of yourself.”

Westerlind says that while he’s reading pieces, if there’s a part where he becomes focused on something other than the story, he asks himself why that happened.

“Is it me, did I get distracted because the cat is moving, but am I staying focused on the cat and not diving back into the story?” he said. “Why is the story not consuming me?”

Not because the piece itself is bad, Westerlind reiterates, but because there’s something that the story needs. 

“Sometimes critique can be hard, because it feels personal,” he said. 

Westerlind said part of why he struggles internally with his writing is because he’s looking to move to the next level of writing and he wants to meet people there. He wondered if he should take the next step to getting a master’s of fine arts in creative writing to take himself higher.

“I thought to myself, what am I missing from this community I’m trying to make?” he asked. “Am I pulling away from them or can I put more back into it?” 

Community, Westerlind says, is important in writing. In the writing groups he holds on Wednesday mornings, he’ll get a lot done than when he’s writing alone. 

“I asked what I can offer to these people who have spoken to me about writing,” Westerlind said. “I realized that as I’ve taken them under my wing, they will, in turn, take me under theirs.”

Westerlind said he’s been looking for people to hold him and his writing, metaphorically, as he’s been holding them, to receive what he has given. 

“They will do this for me as I’ve done for them,” Westerlind said. “I just have to let them.”

Letting go of trying to take care of everything can be difficult, especially if it’s what you’re used to, but Westerlind is glad he’s made these connections. 

“Being in this job at Wild’s Coffee, I feel like I’m more fulfilled from discussion and thought than if I were at a different job,” he said. “Everyone here has been great.”

Westerlind also runs a publishing press out of Chicago, Clawfoot Press, where they contract with printers and artists to create the best version of a book they can – good books in small batches. 

When Westerlind isn’t making coffee, creating campaigns for his Dungeons and Dragons group, writing about how irritating flies are, his book and other works, and having heartfelt discussions with coffee patrons, he’s also doing window washing with his brother, Marc, at Westerlinds’ 4.8★ Window Washing.

“We started in winter, which was a terrible idea, so I started working at Wild’s Coffee in the interim,” Westerlind said. “It’s going well now though.”

Visit the Westerlinds’ window washing company at fourpointeightstar.com/. Clawfoot Press has a few books available and can be found at clawfootpress.com/. Westerlind’s book can be found on Goodreads, “Ugo: A pilgrimage”, which was also illustrated by his wife, Alyssa Bozekowski, a photographer and artist.

Westerlind is also available at jackostalk@gmail.com if anyone wants help with their book or short story or any other piece.