Join us for local history author programs

Meet Authors David and Marti Peck: Special Lewis and Clark History Presentation

ASTORIA, OR – The Lewis & Clark National Park Association is pleased to announce a guest author double feature event on July 7, 2025, at 2pm and 3:30pm in the Netul River Room of the Visitor Center at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. Admission to the park is free for this event.

At 2pm, Dr. David Peck’s Or Perish in the Attempt ingeniously combines the remarkable adventures of Lewis and Clark with an examination of the health problems their expedition faced. Formidable problems indeed, but the author guides us through the medical travails of the famous journey, juxtaposing treatment then against remedy now. The result is a fascinating book that sheds new light not only on Lewis and Clark and the men and one remarkable woman (and her infant) who accompanied them along an eight-thousand-mile wilderness path but also on the practice of medicine in their time and place.

At 3:30pm, authors and doctors David & Marti Peck of So Hard to Die: A Physician and a Psychologist Explore the Mystery of Meriwether Lewis's Death provide an in-depth analysis of the various theories that still swirl around his death. They draw on their professional backgrounds to vividly and convincingly explain the mystery of Lewis's death.

Dr. David J. Peck was raised in Santa Barbara, California. He worked for a multi-specialty medical group in San Diego in their Department of Urgent Care for 21 years. Prior to practicing medicine, Dr. Peck attended Arizona State University, earning Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Biological Science and Secondary Education. He is board certified in Family Medicine.

Dr. Marti Peck is a retired Clinical Psychologist and is certified by the American Psychoanalytic Society as an Adult Psychoanalyst. She had a private practice for 31 years. She became fascinated with the mental health aspects of Meriwether Lewis’s life from reading Lewis’s past biographies and careful consideration of the known historical facts concerning his death. Dr. Peck’s contribution to “So Hard to Die” include a detailed analysis of both his personality and how various influences from both the culture of early America and his family likely influenced his behaviors and ultimate fate.

This event is sponsored by the Lewis & Clark National Park Association (LCNPA) and hosted at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. The Fort Clatsop Bookstore is a program of the LCNPA, a nonprofit 501c3 supporting education at the park since 1963. The bookstore is located inside the visitor center at 92343 Fort Clatsop Road, Astoria, OR 97103 and online at FortClatsopBookstore.com & LewisAndClarkNPA.org