Debra Wilson Frank’s book, Faint Heart Never Climbed a Mountain, is a centennial history of the Wasatch Mountain Club published in June 2026. Her work also appears in the Rumpus, Brevity’s Blog, Herstry, Miniskirt, Down in the Dirt, Moss Piglet Zine, and in the anthology Being Home, edited by Sam Pickering and Bob Kunzinger. She holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and a degree in Business Administration from the University of Washington, where she graduated cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and Beta Gamma Sigma—the national business honor society.
A former Vice President of Borders Books and Music, Debra turned to writing as a means of coping in the aftermath of her young husband’s sudden death, when her children were four and six years old. She discovered a new passion and soon began to explore her traumatic childhood. When she eventually finishes her memoir, look for it to be shelved somewhere between Mary Karr and Jeannette Walls.
Debra grew up in Seattle back when Starbucks was a restaurant coffee supplier, and Amazon was a jungle. She left her hometown after college and will always miss Pike Place Market, Elliott Bay, and Mt. Rainier.
She found her dream job and company when she was hired to open and manage the fourth Borders store, in Indianapolis. When she was promoted nine months later, she moved to Ann Arbor, where she managed the growing chain of bookstores.
Debra now makes her home in Salt Lake City (Small Lake City), where she loves the community she’s found, the accessibility of the mountains, and the astonishing variety of hiking.