Once upon a time, in a bedroom far, far away, I was a different person. This person that I once was thought about being in the wilderness a lot, and about hiking, and about how it would be to live there.
And then everything changed.
And then everything changed again.
And then I had children (note: "change" is not a strong enough word for that, er, transformation).
And then one of the children, Chestnut, became 15 and had her own, different obsession with the wilderness. As a result of which she ended up reading this book, and then it all came back to me in a rush.
That is the cover this book had when I read it, and I remember the feel of it—matte and papery—and all the specific scenes. Such a strange and immediate work it is, so very compelling. My niece saw it and read it too, with the same immediate powerful draw.
What is it about this book? I do not know. I only know that it's there, and that I am now intersecting with my kids in whole new and strange ways, which I find excellent. Also, if there is a person in your life yearning for the wilderness, this is what you should hand them.
I remember being the person that read that book and tried to imagine myself in those circumstances. I have a lot of books about living in the woods/off the grid/on a farm. IRL that is not really me at all- but I am fascinated by the experience. (I also have read about through hiking the Appalachian Trail- again something I am never going to do.) It is interesting because my daughter actually majored in Ag and Ecology, but has shown no interest in reading any of my books like Woodswoman.
Posted by: ChrisinNY | September 09, 2016 at 09:04 AM