Lonesome: Memoirs of a Wilderness Dog
Can$18.95
Charming, humorous and utterly engaging, this is a book that will make readers laugh and cry. Written from the point of view and in the voice of the author’s dog, Lonesome, its observations of life in the wilds reveal a dog with great character, charm — and attitude.
Named for her first home, remote Lonesome Lake in British Columbia’s Tweedsmuir Park, Lonesome was a first-rate companion: obedient, mannerly, brave, yet occasionally cynical. She did not share her human’s love of the wilderness, and wore a martyred expression for most of her life. She would have much preferred a life in the suburbs, “with nice safe walks in the park and a cozy bed inside the house.”
Lonesome’s memoirs paint a vivid and not altogether flattering picture of her life with Chris, but as she states, “I am not a vindictive creature and this book will remain family reading.” Lonesome loftily points out in her introduction that her book focuses on events not already recounted in Chris’s previous books, and she shares her unique canine perspective on their day-to-day life in the wilds.
Chris Czajkowski, well-known author and naturalist, has lived in the wilderness for the last 21 years. When she decided to build her own home in the backwoods of British Columbia’s Coast Mountains, all the odds were against her. She was not entirely used to using a chainsaw; she knew little about building; and she’d never lived so far from amenities. Yet she intended to do it alone. Her family had always lived by the code “If you want something, you make it rather than buy it.”
But this remarkable person beat the odds, built her cabin, went further into the wilderness and built three more. She wrote letters to Peter Gzowski on CBC’s Morningside about her experiences, and those letters became her first book about the area: Cabin at Singing River, described by a Globe and Mail reviewer as “a celebration of the natural world, and a story of perseverance, independence, courage and imagination.” This praise accurately describes the woman herself. Before long, a fascinated audience wanted to hear more. She went on to write Diary of a Wilderness Dweller; Nuk Tessli; and Snowshoes & Spotted Dick: Letters from a Wilderness Dweller. Over the years, she has given numerous interviews including: Peter Gzowski of Morningside; Arthur Black; In the Company of Women; and Great Canadian Rivers — Kleena Kleei. She is also a visual artist and sculptor. Her passions are nature and alpine plants.
Animals
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