Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood

by Gary Paulsen

Hardcover, 2021

Status

Available

Call number

813.54

Genres

Fiction

Collection

NonFic Labeled

Publication

Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (2021), 368 pages

Description

Biography & Autobiography. Family & Relationships. Juvenile Nonfiction. Science. HTML: "Dan Bittner flawlessly narrates this matchless memoir, which captures writer Gary Paulsen's bittersweet life...The sublime narration and satisfying conclusion contribute to a rewarding listening experience." �?? AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner A middle grade memoir from a living literary legend, giving listeners a new perspective on the origins of Gary Paulsen's famed survival stories. His name is synonymous with high-stakes wilderness survival stories. Now, beloved author Gary Paulsen portrays a series of life-altering moments from his turbulent childhood as his own original survival story. If not for his summer escape from a shockingly neglectful Chicago upbringing to a North Woods homestead at age five, there never would have been a Hatchet. Without the encouragement of the librarian who handed him his first book at age thirteen, he may never have become a reader. And without his desperate teenage enlistment in the Army, he would not have discovered his true calling as a storyteller. A moving and enthralling story of grit and growing up, Gone to the Woods is perfect for newcomers to the voice and lifelong fans alike, from the acclaimed author at his rawest and realest. A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member brangwinn

Surviving a Lost Childhood is the perfect subtitle for Paulsen’s memoir. By using third person, he gave the story the feel it needs. Always called The Boy, Paulsen makes clear the lack of human love in his life. At five, when went to live with an aunt and uncle, he had a chance to understand what

caring adults could mean to him. That joy was short lived as he was returned to his drunken parents. But like many misfits, he found his place in a library and books. Long before he wrote Hatchet he was living his own survival story. A librarian and the Army rescued him and showed him the power he had as a storyteller. While this release is being labeled as children’s nonfiction/middle grades, it deserves a place on adult shelves, particularly for those who fondly remember Paulsen’s ability to pull the reader into a story.

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LibraryThing member maggie1944

Well written, gripping story of a rough childhood, based on the author's experiences. Recommended for both middle and high school aged young people, and adults.

LibraryThing member DianaTixierHerald

Outstanding autobiography that is impossible to put down. Paulsen is the author who turned my father-in-law into a reader in his 70's with his novel Harris and Me. This story proves Paulsen's experiences in real life added verisimilitude to his stories. Heart wrenching and inspiring, this tale of a

kid with no real childhood tells of a life lived as a series of loss and horrific events, interspersed with a few bright spots. He was one tough survivor, even at age five. His resilience and determination drove him to became one of America's most beloved writers. It is a great read for tweens, teens, and adults. I'm just sorry my father-in-law (who would have been 100 next month) is not around to read it.

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LibraryThing member bell7

Beloved middle grade and YA author Gary Paulsen recounts his childhood, with some memories of joy but also of a misfit kid who didn't like school and avoided his alcoholic parents as much as possible, running to the woods and fending for himself.

Paulsen tells his own story in a series of vignettes

with a sense of distance from what actually happened to him created by constantly referring to himself in the third person as "the boy". Only once or twice is his name even mentioned. He takes his time rendering in loving detail a time when he lived with his aunt and uncle in Minnesota at the age of five, learning how to fish and hunt for mushrooms. And then he'll focus on just bits and pieces of the later, harder parts of his life, telling for example of the ship ride over to Manila when he had chicken pox, but then skipping over a few years and mentioning events in Manila in retrospect. His staccato style of writing and jumping in time annoyed me, but I still found this a fascinating glimpse of a unique life lived.

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LibraryThing member acargile

Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood is a 2022 Lone Star selection. I think adults may bond with the novel more than middle schoolers; I hope I am wrong.

Gary was born in 1939 to a woman who was never meant to be a mother and a father who was in the army--also, someone who shouldn't be a

father. With his dad in WWII, Gary was left with his mother who chose an unstable life. She stayed at bars, met men, and drank. When her sister insists Gary come stay with her and her husband, this five-year-old travels quite a distance during a war by himself. The ride itself captivates the modern reader who would find this trip almost unfathomable. Yes, times have changed, but kids still have bad homes, bad parents, and need someone to help and love them--to provide a home. I love the time he spends with his aunt and uncle--obviously, this time molds him and teaches him about nature. Unfortunately, his mother collects him and they'll be going to Manila to be with the father. Arriving in Manila begins Gary's life alone. He never has a home except the brief time with his aunt. He leaves home, only to be returned several times because he's too young to be on his own, courtesy of "do-gooders." Truly, his life borders on dangerous.

The biography begins with advice from his grandmother when dealing with problems: "If it doesn't work Here, go over There." This mantra seems to rule his life. He's always on the move, trying to find a home of some kind although he doesn't seem to be someone who wants to be in one place forever. For a kid who doesn't attend school, he learns quickly. He decides it is best to "learn...without making noise." He makes his own decisions, learns what he chooses (thanks to a wonderful librarian), and lives his life despite being too young to make his own decisions. He's powerless during most of this biography, but he's always learning and moving, finding what he wants his future to be and how to write it all down at the end of life to explain how he ended up as he is at the age of eighty.

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LibraryThing member bookwyrmm

Paulsen wrote this memoir in the style of many of his books, which really makes it stand out.

LibraryThing member jennybeast

A powerful book, with a lot of difficult content -- and made both the more powerful and the more difficult for the aching loss Paulsen infuses into his writing. His beautiful summer as a very young child that allowed him to endure stands a shining backdrop throughout everything else that happens. I

hope he found great and lasting happiness as an adult. Book includes some graphic war violence from childhood in Manila, abuse/neglect from parents, realities of life as a feral child. Would resonate hugely with some kids, offer them a path and a map; would scar others. It's beautifully written and heartrending, and as good a tale of survival as ever there was.

Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss.

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LibraryThing member msf59

I have not read much of Paulsen’s YA books but I have enjoyed his nonfiction. Winterdance was excellent. In this memoir, which he authored at age 80, looks at his early, very-troubled life, growing up with alcoholic, abusive parents. It covers his fondest memory- spending a summer with his aunt

and uncle on a farm in northern Minnesota and the brutal years he spent with his parents in the Philippines, during WWII. How this boy survived such a childhood, is a triumph of resilience. Paulsen is such a good writer and even a better storyteller.

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