Review by Booklist Review
As a teenager, Torgeby emerged as an elite distance runner in Sweden, but, at the same time, he became a caregiver for his mother after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. This pivotal experience, along with a running injury, shaped his life and contributed to his decision, when he turned 20, to spend the next four years living in the wilderness and surviving frigid conditions in a Thoreau-like attempt to ""live deliberately."" In this courageous memoir, he describes his routine of surviving on bare essentials, lots of oatmeal, and occasional jobs to support his stripped-down lifestyle. His main sustenance, we learn, comes from the spiritual gratification of running in the wilderness. In the book's second part, he describes an abrupt change of pace, as he moves to Tanzania to train with elite runners there. He gradually finds peace experiencing a kind of spring thaw, falling in love and settling down to life as a family man. A best-seller in Sweden, Torgeby's memoir offers a powerful testament to simplicity, the quest for inner peace, and the liberating joy of running with no stopwatches, just the sky above and ground below.--Brenda Barrera Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Torgeby recounts his four years living a near-solitary, primitive existence in a Swedish forest in this introspective memoir of a life lived in contrast to the fast-paced modern world. As a teenager the author was an up-and-coming competitive runner with the talent to be a national and even Olympic contender. But unable to deal with the "heaviness" of expectations, the complexities of life and death, and his mother's multiple sclerosis, the 20-year-old takes up residence in a tent in the wilderness where in the winter temperatures dip below zero. He tries to clear his mind with hard work, running, solitude, and stillness, but at first he says he has no answers for his "restlessness." He occasionally competes in races and even trains with a team in Tanzania, where he speaks and eats little, but he is still left with the question, "Why am I doing this?" Back in the woods he continues his quest, describing his life with repetitive, self-aware prose: "the battle I am fighting within myself" and "I want to inhabit my body... and know myself." Finally in his third winter, after finding a rundown cottage to live in, he realizes that he doesn't have to run from everything; there are things-love, purpose, family-to run toward. This stirring treatise of living (and running) simply will inspire those struggling with finding their place. (Oct.) c Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A memoir about living in the wilderness, withstanding the elements, seeing no one, and doing almost nothing but running.Swedish author Torgeby was always an indifferent student beset by anxiety and itching to get outside. "I don't understand why I should be stuck inside doing something I don't want to do," he writes of that boyhood. "I don't bother with my homework and always have the lowest marks in my class in every test. I just want to run." His life got worse when his mother was diagnosed with a serious illness and he undertook her care. Though he had begun running competitively early on, he was always better in training than he was in a race, for reasons his coach said were all in his head. When he was 20, he left his home and family to live in the woods and run. Though he would interrupt this seclusion for a six-month training sojourn in Tanzania, he ended up spending four winters battling the elements, running daily, and taking odd jobs in the countryside when his money ran low. A journalist wrote some articles about him, but he wondered why people were interested. Some readers may be tempted to agree with him, as he doesn't come across as particularly perceptive or reflective. Yet the articles sparked the attention of a documentary filmmaker, toward whom his subject was also ambivalent, not wanting the bother of attention but enjoying a bit of celebrity (the book was a bestseller in Sweden). Other runners found inspiration in his story, and he made his re-entry into civilization, with a wife, a family, and a message about how little you need to live life to the fullest. You don't need expensive shoes or special socks or any consumer trappings. "You only need to put on your shoes and get going," he writes. "Let the blood circulate. Then everything becomes much clearer."A slim, mildly inspirational book suggesting that you have to risk getting lost in order to find yourself. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
