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Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Gone To The Woods: Surviving A Lost Childhood, written by Gary Paulsen. Farrar Straus Giroux, Macmillan. Raincoast. 2021. $24.50 ages 12 and up

 


"He'd seen books before. Of course. 
But never one that seemed so ...
so alive. Like it wanted to be his 
friend. Silly thought; how can a book 
be a friend? But the librarian had 
done the same thing, said follow me. 
Into this stack of books. 
And for the first time in his life he 
truly wanted to know this book, 
know what was in it, how it was, 
and what he had to do to know what
it was saying to him. Really wanted 
to know.
"

Gary Paulsen is a wonder. I have taken his advice to heart for many years: Read like a wolf eats! 

To say I have found myself in his books is not true; I have found characters to love, to admire, to never forget. I started reading his books in 1986 when Hatchet was published and continue to read as many as possible. Some I have read multiple times (Harris and Me, How Angel Peterson Got His Wings, Nightjohn, Sarny). I have recommended them to students, friends, non-readers, my own children. He has never disappointed me. I knew some of his story. 

Reading Gone to the Woods has been heartbreaking and hilarious, and definitely memorable. I will not forget what life was like for 'the boy' he describes in this moving memoir. Mr. Paulsen writes about himself with clarity, and explores some of the childhood experiences that led him to writing. His alcoholic, abusive parents made his early life a nightmare. Rescued by his grandmother, and sent to Minnesota to live with his aunt and uncle offers a love he has never known. The fact that he made the trip by himself, in the company of returning and injured WWII soldiers had an enduirng effect on him. 

While living in Minnesota, he learns about survival in the woods. When his mother shows up to take him to meet his father in the Philippines, his life is filled with the trauma of the unforgettable conditions there. They will haunt him throughout his life, and informs this honest account of some of his most difficult memories.   

This is his life story, and those who love his books will begin to understand where many of those stories originated. The return to North Dakota with his parents is unbearable, and he often runs away to the woods. There, he uses all he learned while living with Edy and Sig to keep himself safe, fed and happy. It is at this time he discovers the library, and a librarian who encourages him to find solace in books. She also provides a notebook and pencil, and the rest is his history. Would that his many fans could give thanks to that remarkable woman. She changes his life, as does his time in the military. There, he finds his voice and so begins his journey as a prolific, masterful storyteller. 

"But there's the other thing, 
the other way. You can see things, do things, learn things
on your own, and see if you can write them down to 
make mind-pictures for other people to see. To under
-stand. To know. To know you ... 
"Who?" Who would ever want to see his private 
word-pictures? Or understand him or know him - 
an ugly kid, with bad hair, old clothes, no money. Just 
nobody. A wrong kid in the wrong place with the wrong
people at the wrong time doing all the wrong things. Who 
would ever care about him and what he had to write?
"

Mr. Paulsen, you are a hero! 

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