Mirroring the history and settlement of Northern Michigan, Stepping Off the Boat: Stories from North Manitou Island by Susan Hollister Wasserman describes the importance of the Great Lakes as the first "highway" for indigenous peoples and French fur traders which paved the way for the settlement of the Manitou Islands, of Michigan, and of the Midwest after the Civil War.

The stories tell how back breaking labor felled virgin forests, then plowed andfarmed the cleared land. How human habitation shaped the island’s geological and historical development. And how a typical Michigan resort community (Cottage Row), established over 100 years ago, is a vestige of a bygone era when families left urban environments and spent the entire summer on this remote island.

 Using almost 400 historic photographs and images, this is a fascinating journey of immigrants, government surveyors, sailors, lumbermen, farmers, and fisherman. Island names on today's map reflect the story of North Manitou Island. In early days, everyone who came to the Island had to "step off the boat."

Stepping Off the Boat: Stories from North Manitou Island was Awarded the Leelanau Press Research Fellowship 2022 by the Leelanau Historical Society.