He worked on an oil rig, shoed horses, and led pack trips to support his writing.
[1] In 1999 he published a memoir, Where Rivers Change Direction, about his unusual childhood, with no TV or radio but surrounded by vast expanses of rugged outdoor beauty.
The book received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly[2] and Library Journal,[3] and won the 2000 Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award for Nonfiction[4] Spragg later published the novels The Fruit of Stone, An Unfinished Life, and Bone Fire.
He also co-wrote the screenplay to An Unfinished Life with his wife, Virginia Korus Spragg.
Reviewed in the New York Times by Claire Dederer[9] and USA Today [10] According to WorldCat, the book is held in 1342 libraries.