Answers to Go with Susan Smith
Q. I am here to pick up books for a friend who isn’t getting out of the house much these days. She really liked “Braving It.” Can you help me find more books like that?
A. Since neither of us had read “Braving It,” I turned to the library catalog for clues about the content and appeal of this book. The subject headings indicate this is an Alaskan true survival/adventure story of a father and his teenage daughter.
The following summary is based on the publisher’s description: “Author James Campbell and his teenage daughter, Aiden, travel to the far reaches of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. There, the two help James’ cousin build a cabin. Despite windchills of 50 degrees below zero, father and daughter also venture out daily to track, hunt and trap.
“Under the supervision of Edna, the Yupik Eskimo wife of James’ cousin, Aiden grows more confident in the woods. Campbell knows that in traditional Eskimo cultures, some daughters earn a rite of passage usually reserved for young men. On their third and most ambitious trip, they backpack over Alaska's Brooks Range to the headwaters of the mighty Hulahula River. There they assemble a folding canoe and paddle down treacherous rapids to the Arctic Ocean.”
I returned to the catalog entry for “Braving It” and spotted the subject heading for “wilderness survival” I searched the catalog with those terms and recommended the following nonfiction books: “Wild: from Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail” by Cheryl Strayed; “Wild by Nature: From Siberia to Australia, Three Years Alone in the Wilderness on Foot” by Sarah Marquis; “The Way Out: A True story of Ruin and Survival” by Craig Childs; and “One Man’s Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey” by Sam Keith. Last, but not least, is “Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why: True stories of Miraculous Endurance and Sudden Death” by Laurence Gonzales.
This column brings to mind a children’s book I recommend often, Gary Paulsen’s “Hatchet.” It is a fiction title about a boy who is the sole survivor when a small plane crashes in the forests of northern Canada.
The take away from this column — librarians love to help people find their next favorite book.
