A Major Regret

 

I’ve written about Craig Childs before.  He became my favorite author after reading his book The Animal Dialogues: Uncommon Encounters in the Wild.  I’ve fallen in love with his writing style and topics.  What has caught my attention now is his journey as a writer. 

I so wish I could sit down with him and discuss his journey as a writer.  I want to know how his focus changes with each book.  I’m on his 7^th book and this one is so different in style from all the others.  It feels like I’m reading the writings of some ancient, ethereal spirit.  The book, The Way Out tells of his 16-day hike of less than 5 miles wandering through the southwest’s labyrinth of canyons, chasms and slopes, not sure where he is heading, seeing no other life, animal or plant, and contemplating if this is his ruin or his survival. 

I taught an OLLI class based on his book Apocalyptic Planet, also fascinating, based on his travels around the world studying natural cycles of the planet and man’s impact on those cycles.  I remember so clearly one of the participants in the class saying Craig Childs was crazy.  Crazy because he lived some truly amazing adventures that most of us cannot even imagine, much less think of taking on.  I countered her remark with the comment that he is not crazy, rather he is a man with knowledge and experiences that none of us in the room have.  That each of his remarkable experiences has prepared him for the next.  Most of us cannot imagine such a life because we do not take the risks or learn the skills that are required to survive. 

My next Childs book is Stone Desert: A Naturalist’s Exploration of Canyonlands National Park.  This book was published in 1995 and is the earliest published that I’ve read so far.  While I haven’t started reading it yet, I have looked it over.  And what I noticed immediately was the perspective of the book….it is much more straightforward, not nearly as poetic.  He was 28 when he wrote this book, so I am not at all surprised that his style has matured as much as it appears. 

I kind of feel like I’m addicted to this author.  The impact of his storytelling on me is that I would give anything to live my life over.  I want to live his life (sans the alcoholic father), know intimately my world and live on its edge.  I could have done it this time around, but I didn’t.  A major regret.