About the Author: Kristina Munroe
Kristina Munroe PE, a professional engineer, lives in Durango Colorado with her two sons, Austin and Andy, at their home they named Twisted Oak, a house that heats and cools itself, generates its power, collects and heats its household water, and manages its waste in an environmentally responsible way.
Kristina Munroe grew up in Durango, Colorado, attended Durango High School, and graduated valedictorian in 1983. She graduated with High Honors from Northeastern University in Boston, MA, earning a civil engineering degree with an emphasis on structural design in 1988.
During her career, she worked as a Naval Architect for the US Navy, as an engineer for The Boeing Company on the design of the Boeing 777, and for smaller design firms specializing in the design of bridges and marine structures.
In 1999, Kristina turned her attention back to her longtime interest in architecture, specializing in the structural design of small commercial and residential projects. She started Munroe Engineering in Seattle, WA in 2001. She holds a professional engineering license (PE) in both Washington State and Colorado.
Twisted Oak is the inspiring, true story of a family seeking a more sustainable life in a complex, technology-driven world. Their journey leads them to build a self-sustaining home and lifestyle in the sunny mountains of southwestern Colorado as they pursue their goal to maintain a balance of respecting the natural world and continuing to remain engaged in the modern world. Follow Kristina and her sons, Austin and Andy, from their initial vision and dream of a more simple life, through their triumphs and their tears as they research, design, and build a home with the support of their family and the skills of newfound friends. Rejoice with them as they learn and find unexpected healing and new strength on the road to an abundant and fulfilling future.
Along with the heartwarming story, Twisted Oak is full of technical inserts and plenty of practical tips from an engineer who not only designed her home, but helped build it, and has comfortably lived in it with her family for over six years.
“Kristina Munroe’s whimsical, brave tale begins ‘on a dark and stormy night’ as she welcomes readers to join her on a humble journey to build Twisted Oak, her solar-powered, rain-harvesting, organically-inspired home — replete with an indoor tropical garden and loft — near Durango, Colorado. An engineer by trade, Munroe’s words are crafted as intentionally as the tires and timber that piece together Twisted Oak, making this vibrant book ideal for both curious architects and those seeking an energizing story about one determined mother’s leap of faith. Twisted Oak empowers our pioneer hearts to keep seeking ways to imagine a more sustainable way of life and, above all, realize that pipe dreams are in fact possibilities waiting to happen. Pairs best with either a cup of tea at sunrise or glass of wine at sunset. Happy daydreaming!”
~ Joy Martin, Associate Publisher MTN Town Magazine
“More than a DIY home-building story, Twisted Oak offers the reader an intimate account of crafting a home and a life from the inside out. With nature and its forces and humans and their follies as collaborators, author Kristina Munroe ’s optimistic voice leads the reader through a journey grounded in simplicity, beauty and ecology.”
~ Jules Masterjohn,
Editor of Stanton Englehart: A Life on Canvas
