The Square Life

“Ad•ven•ture: an undertaking usually involving danger and unknown risks.” Though selecting your next book doesn’t usually involve any danger, it certainly does present an unknown risk.  Here are three risk-free, real-life adventures that are sure to get your heart pumping as you vicariously hike through the back woods of America, take on the Australian desert, or learn about the 12 rules of survival. These books are a perfect summer read….And we promise you that you’ll come out alive.

A WALK IN THE WOODS
by Bill Bryson

On the edge of town there’s a path that disappears into the woods. Bryson realizes it’s no ordinary path; it’s part of the 2,100 mile-long Appalachian Trail that stretches across fourteen states!  Bryson decides to hike the trail, and welcomes his old-friend Katz to come along. He rethinks his decision when Katz packs his 75-pound backpack full of Snickers, claming if he doesn’t eat every hour he has seizures. 

BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE
by Aron Ralston

It starts out a simple Saturday hike for Aron Ralston, in Canyonlands National Park, Utah.  Then at 2:41 PM, Ralston climbs down off a wedged boulder when a 800-pound rock suddenly comes loose and pins his right arm against the canyon wall. This begins the longest six days of his life.  Ralston is eight miles from his truck, many more miles away from civilization, and has only a little water and food.  At first Ralston panics and tries to pull his arm free but his arm does not budge.  On Sunday, marking twenty-four hours of being stuck, Ralston uses his video camera to record his good-byes to his family, thinking he won’t survive.  But on Thursday, Ralston receives divine inspiration, when he realizes the only way he’ll survive is to cut off his arm.

TRACKS
by Robyn Davidson

Davidson is a 27-year-old woman who’s never changed a light bulb, sewn a dress, or changed a tire; but somehow she thinks she can trek across the 1,700 mile Australian desert on wild camels.  Knowing nothing about camels or desert survival, Davidson spends two years preparing, then heads out into the desert with nothing but four camels, a dog, and her will to achieve what people told her was impossible.  

ADRIFT
by Steven Callahan

On February 4, 1982, Steven Callahan sets sail from the Canary Islands on a small boat, determined to cross the Atlantic Ocean.  Unfortunately, his boat sinks six days into the trip.  Callahan is then left adrift on a five-foot life raft with only three pounds of food, eight pints of water, a solar still, and a makeshift spear.  During his time at sea, Callahan constantly fights off death; he loses an incredible amount of weight; and becomes malnourished eating only whatever fish he catches.  He also repeatedly fights off sharks and other sea animals.  And when things couldn’t get any worse, Callahan’s raft springs a leak.  Through it all, Callahan manages to survive on his own for 76 days when rescue finally comes.   

DEEP SURVIVAL
by Laurence Gonzales

While young, Gonzales was amazed with his dad’s survival stories from World War II. Gonzales believes his dad had a special quality that kept him alive.  For 35 years Gonzales looks for that quality, wondering why some people live and some die.  Why is a teenage girl as likely to survive as a seasoned outdoorsman? After years of research, Gonzales realizes it’s not training that keeps you alive, but what’s in your heart. 

A LADY'S LIFE IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS
by Isabella L. Bird

Isabella Bird comes from a wealthy English family with no reason not to enjoy her life.  But in1854, at age twenty-two, Bird decides to improve her health by traveling the world.  So she leaves the comfort of her home and family behind, and set out on a journey on her own.  More then twenty years later, Bird ends up in the Colorado Rockies, where she spends six months traveling on horseback through mostly uninhabited wilderness.  On her travels Bird befriends desperados, herds cattle, survives temperatures well below zero and climbs 14,000-foot mountains.  During all her adventures she never fears any danger but is always up for any adventure that allows her to see the unparalleled beauty of nature.