Author John Goodwin’s Memoir Shares an Unforgettable Twenty-Seven Year Career Working as a National Park Service Law Enforcement Park Ranger

On August 31, 2017, park ranger John Goodwin radioed “10-29” (out of service) to dispatch for the last time, closing the final chapter in a twenty-seven-year career. His career, which would take him from mountain parks to a subtropical park and finally to an urban park, is only part of an amazing journey. His memoir, titled “Echoes Of The Badge, Stories From A National Park Service Career,” is a candid view of a park ranger overcoming personal struggles and discovering an inner strength.

During his career with the National Park Service, he was struck by lightning twice, faced off against bears and alligators, suffered numerous assaults in the line of duty, was hospitalized over twenty times, and fought a ten-year battle with PTSD.

His memoir, released in January 2024, has a hundred stories of his experiences persevering against incredible odds. The author recounts lives that he saved and despite heroic efforts, lives that were lost as well. John Goodwin details reaching a breaking point with PTSD, and his ultimate fight to save his own life. Overall, the memoir illustrates the life of a ranger who kept fighting back through sheer determination to protect the National Parks and the people who visit them.

John Goodwin’s memoir provides a fresh perspective on the National Park Service and law enforcement park rangers. Rather than portraying them as larger than life heroes, he shows us they truly are ordinary men and women, forced to do extraordinary things. Many, like the author, are flawed, but they find a way to rise to the task at hand and achieve success.

John Goodwin’s memoir, “Echoes Of The Badge, Stories From A National Park Service Career,” can be purchased on Amazon

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John Goodwin

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