Gleaned from journals begun in 1978, Cabin Fever offers a glimpse into the life of a young writer in Rocheport, Missouri. Once a layover for Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery Expedition, the sleepy river town sets the backdrop for this memoir of the writer's journey. The author recreates the village stories of intrigue, romance and heartbreak, capturing the rhythm of life and times on the Missouri River. Excerpt: A furnished cabin in Rocheport was vacant, so I signed a lease, sight unseen. It didn’t take long to meet all of my neighbors on Gaw Street, a dead-end lane that ended at Joe Cochran’s barn. Joe had a view of the Missouri River, and across the hollow, of my kitchen window. Below my cabin was George Swope’s Airstream trailer, and on a rise above the trailer was Sweetie Stemmons’ white house, with a shady screened porch overlooking George’s bedroom window. We all lived pretty much in each other’s pockets. How I loved and dreaded their stories (repeated so often you could recite them), which bored me to death until I wised up and recorded them in my journals. "It seems odd to consider a river town in mid-Missouri with just over 200 residents beneath the same lens as Paris and New York City, but a new memoir from Kristen Heitkamp about life in Rocheport invites this comparison." Evan Allen Wood, Missouri Life Kristen is particularly adept at relaying dialogue from a wide selection of speakers. This memoir feels extremely lifelike . . . the book presents events ranging from tragic to joyous . . . It's to Kristen's credit as a writer that you finish this book with a sense of wistfulness. Unlike a lot of memoirs, I never got the sense that this one was setting out to tug on my heartstrings--but it did so all the same. (From Missouri Life magazine "Editor's Choice" 2025 Best Book Award)