I want only to apprentice myself to Mother Nature, to steep myself in the raw reality of survival, and, like Thoreau, to wander without time or destination, a hawk-eye witness to the unfoldingof four full seasons.
This narrative reveals a path of both dreamtime and awakening. When Dunn leaves her workaday world to suspend the “busy-ness” of mainstream routines, all sorts of emotions begin to surface. With heartfelt honesty, the author leans into the sharp places, exposed and raw, to discover her true self. Wisdom blooms from her experiences. “This is what I love about this year,” she writes. “I’m crafting the tools for living from my own hands, from the earth; beauty and functionality are one and the same, transforming the mundane into the sacred.” So evolves the journey of balance with nature, as Dunn seeks the sacred order of shelter, water, fire, and food to sustain herself through the seasons.
http://storycirclebookreviews.org/reviews/yearwithoutmatches.shtmlMy Year Without Matches: Escaping the City in Search of the Wild by Claire Dunn
This is Tom’s first book and it enthralled many with his tales of learning from Grandfather Stalking Wolf. The book has stories that teach about learning to track, survive in the woods, and stories about the remarkable relationship Stalking Wolf had with the natural world. They are inspiring stories that touch the soul of anyone who has a love of nature.
This is Tom’s second book and continues in the same vein as The Tracker. There are new stories about his life and time with Grandfather Stalking Wolf. The stories touch on everything; skills, philosophy and caretaking and creating a meaningful relationship with the natural world.
Black Elk Speaks
This is a stunning book, full of heart and heart break. It chronicles the life of Nicholas Black Elk during the falling of the Native people. It is so much more than just the telling of this horrible time in our history, but is full of the Vision and spirituality that were born through his struggles. His is an important message for our future.
“Please Note: the Post-Apocalyptic Fiction has been moved to current affairs “
Have you seen this meme? This book is one of those post-apocalyptical novels that creates a powerful scenario of the collapse of civilization, and a group of wilderness savvy people, as they create a tiny tribe that learns to survive.
Written by Debbie Tremel, a long time tracker student and survival expert, this book is highly recommended.
Long-time Tracker, Chris Hampton has written a wonderful novel in which you will recognize Grandfather’s skills, the way of the spirit and the way of the scout. Chris has created a tale of the unfolding of Grandfather’s prophecies, in which a young protagonist escapes the collapse and learns skills from his elders who have prepared. It’s an engaging tale but has so much to teach as well. In this book, the author has played the Game for you, so you can experience how it unfolds in his scenario. Since the protagonist is a young teen, and the violence not too graphic, this is an excellent book for youth and young adult readers as well. It’s also another way to introduce friends and family to the concepts and skills needed for the coming times. This book is also available as an audiobook.
Edge Walker
In this second book in the series, author and Tracker Chris Hampton delves more deeply into the spiritual skills. The small community continues to grow and learn the physical skills needed for their survival, but they must also contend with a dark medicine man so is significantly more of the story involving the development and use of spiritual skills. The characters continue to grow and develop and the story is well-paced. Due to some more violence and reference to cannibalism, you may want to preview before allowing children to read, but since it’s not too graphic, it should still be appropriate for teens.
https://www.amazon.com/Into-Veil-Book-Edge-Walker-ebook/dp/B0876F22ZM/ref=sr_1_…
Submitted by Lenny Kagan
The Ringing Cedars of Russia Series is about a family of hermits living in the Taiga of Siberia that traces their lineage back to over 10,000 years ago. The family in the books share their vast ancestral knowledge and memories that they have passed to each other and through the books to us. The interest to us as Tracker students is multi fold.
Firstly, these hermits live in complete balance and harmony with the wilderness around them. No fires. No shelters. No tools. Nature provides for all their needs. Even the wild animals respond to their calls.
Secondly, these hermits possess extraordinary abilities that they claim is inherent within us all, one of these specific abilities that is of interest to us as Tracker students is what they call “a ray” that they use to not only heal with, but to scan remote areas with. This ray is empowered with Love, and then directed to a person or place.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the%20ringing%20cedars%20of%20russia%20book%20series…
This is the very compelling story of Geronimo and his people. There is so much to be learned from their skills and the amazing strategies Geronimo had for keeping his people safe.
Watch for Me on the Mountain – by Forrest Carter
This book is the true story of a plane transporting the Uruguay Rugby team and their friends and family, that crashes in the Andes. It’s a tragic story, but one that holds many lessons in surviving in severe winter conditions. Alive by Piers Paul Read
Alone – From the History Channel
I’m not one for watching the survivor shows, but I cannot stress enough the value in watching this series. The premise is that 10 people are selected. They have to prove their skills to be selected (some of them have been Tracker students, some survival instructors, but the all have solid foundational skills). These people are dropped off alone in a wilderness area with basically a go-bag of supplies. The show premise is that the person who stays the longest wins money. But the teachings of this show are countless.
You experience over and over the psychological and physical strains that take people out. You see where skill failure means starvation and sadly, you see how short a period of time these people can survive on their own in the wilderness. They have some limitations you might not face, but in general, this could easily be equated to an escape scenario. I think this show is of great value if for no other reason than that it helps us be realistic about our skills and our abilities to survive with just a go-bag. It shows us our gaps and what we need to focus on. This is time well spent for preparing for time in the wilderness.