Solo: On Her Own Adventure - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1580051375 ISBN 13: 9781580051378

Publisher: Seal Press, 2005

Synopsis

Back by popular demand, this second edition of Solo adds new stories to the ones readers already love—women pedaling across New Zealand, hiking in the Adirondacks, bodyboarding with dolphins off the California Coast, and driving through the northwestern United States. With plenty of alone-time to contemplate the world, the authors share their adventures, which are collectively humorous and exhilarating, suspenseful and defiant, tranquil and enchanting.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

A very impressive collection of travel pieces by women who took to the byways--road, river, and trail--with only themselves as company. Rogers (editor, Another Wilderness: New Outdoor Writing by Women, not reviewed, etc.) has gathered here almost two dozen adventures that sparkle with insight into what it means to solo in the great outdoors. Sometimes the journeys are made in hopes of finding an answer, or at least a moment of clarity, regarding one of life's travails. Sometimes they're an act of fleeing--from lovers or family or personal demons. E.A. Miller draws a bead on the pretenses that had shaped her camping background: Was she really so adept in the wild, and if she was, then why did she keep asking herself what the men in her family would have done under a specific circumstance? ``Without an audience . . . I was at a loss, unable to frame my own experiences,'' she writes, until she decides to just enjoy herself. Then there is Bridget Quinn's wonderful attitudinizing, be it on ski slope or city street, and Susan Ewing chasing antelope in Montana while at the same time being pursued by ``the sordid siblings, Go-For-It and Fear,'' a couple of Furies who attend most solo exploits. Ann Baker goes on a pilgrim's progress through the former Himalayan kingdom of Ladakh, hoping to touch ``the chain of wisdom'' and spirituality crafted over the last couple of thousand years by the Buddhists of the region. There's not a whole lot of humor here to leaven these often trying episodes, but each piece is a revelation, affording a palpable, honest foray into the writer's personality, into how she contends with inner and outer bogeys, how her thought processes and survival instincts unfold. Crackingly good writing throughout, a heady stew rich with savory chunks of information for those, women or men, wishing to go it alone. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Library Journal:

Editor Rogers (Another Wilderness: New Outdoor Writing by Women, Seal Pr., 1994) offers 23 tales by world travelers describing a woman's experience traveling alone in the outdoors. As solo journeys, most of the interaction is internal, and each tale describes the emotional as well as the physical journeys undertaken. Decisions are made, fears dealt with, and negative reactions by others overcome. The experiences are quite varied, including traveling in New Zealand, rock climbing, winter camping, hunting antelope, and body-boarding with dolphins. How refreshing to find a book about the outdoors that addresses issues peculiar to women, such as the guilt of leaving the family and the fear of meeting a male or males while alone in the wilderness. The book will appeal to armchair travelers and women seeking inspiration and adventure. Recommended for public libraries where travel essays and outdoor literature are popular and for academic libraries with extensive women's studies' collections.?Alison Hopkins, Queens Borough P.L., N.Y.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Seal Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1580051375
• ISBN 13: 9781580051378
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 325
• Editor: Rogers Susan Fox