Reviewed by: BigAl
Genre: Travel Memoir
Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words
Availability
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on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or
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Author:
“Nathan
Doneen grew up on a wheat farm in the Palouse Region of Eastern Washington.
After graduating from Eastern Washington University with degrees in Biology and
Environmental Science, Nathan rediscovered his passion for adventure and for
writing. He is currently pursuing both...”
For more,
visit Doneen’s website.
Description:
“How far
would you go to answer a simple question?
After his
final year at university, Nathan Doneen wasn't satisfied with the direction his
life was heading. He had doubts … he had questions. In June of 2013, Nathan set
out on his mountain bike to search for answers along the Great Divide, a
2700-mile route that traces the Continental Divide from Canada to Mexico… and
he set out alone.
Thrown into
the world of erratic weather, cramped bivy sacks, and overwhelming solitude,
Nathan was continually forced from his comfort zone, putting his personal
growth on steroids.
With both
his future and past in mind, Nathan's revealing and honest account illustrates
the challenges of the route—and life—and how it's possible to find the strength
and courage to move past them.”
Appraisal:
The travel
memoir or narrative has long been one of my favorite non-fiction genres. Part
of that is the obvious. I love to travel and since being on the road all the
time isn’t feasible, experiencing new places and things vicariously is an
alternative. But it’s more than that. A good guidebook or the right internet
site can take you to the same places. Besides that, the way you experience a
place will be different than how anyone else does. (In fact, in some instances
I’ll have been to some of the places myself and the vicarious experience is
replaced by comparing notes, which was true for much of this book for me.)
Books like
this, what I describe as a travel adventure or quest, with a specific, usually
difficult goal involved (in this case, riding a bike on roads and trails that
roughly follow the Continental Divide of North America from well into Canada to
the Mexican border) are also entertaining and interesting to me for other
reasons. Getting a feel for the logistics of such an undertaking satisfies the
curiosity of my more analytical side as does the problem solving involved when
unanticipated problems come up.
However,
there is a third item that I find essential for a travel memoir if it is to hit
the highest mark for me, putting the journey chronicled in the story into a
bigger perspective. What did this experience teach the author about life, the
world, and his or her place in it? It’s this area where The Divide excelled. In between the day to day adventure and
problem solving, Doneen considers his life thus far and where he wants it to go
from there, not unlike a coming-of-age adventure novel. But even better, it’s
true.
FYI:
Adult
language.
Format/Typo Issues:
No
significant issues
Rating: ***** Five Stars
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