upSticks
Life’s most meaningful lessons are often found in the simplest encounters. Picking Up Sticks is a collection of true stories by Gregory Allen Badersnider that draw on experiences with family, community, and the outdoors. Each story invites readers to pause, reflect, and find significance in the everyday.
In Picking Up Sticks, Gregory Allen Badersnider shares moments from a life shaped by family, friendships, travel, and time spent outdoors. These stories move from Michigan neighborhoods to faraway places, always returning to the values of kindness, humility, and resilience.
The collection balances humor and reflection, often beginning with a simple event—a wrong number, a family memory, a chance meeting that grows into something deeper. The book is written with a clear, grounded voice, making it accessible to readers who enjoy stories about faith, family, and the outdoors.
Whether read straight through or opened at random, Picking Up Sticks offers stories that encourage us to notice the quiet ways life teaches us.

Ordinary moments become opportunities for reflection. From small gestures of kindness to conversations with strangers, these stories reveal how little things can shape our perspective.

At the heart of the book are reflections on raising children, building a strong marriage, and living with purpose. These essays explore the values that hold families together.

From riverbanks to mountain trails and even journeys abroad, the book highlights the lessons nature and travel can teach about resilience, patience, and joy.
Gregory Allen Badersnider © 2025. All Rights Reserved.