Cabin at Singing River: One Woman's Story of Building a Home in the Wilderness

by Chris Czajkowski

Chris Czajkowski came to Canada’s attention in the mid-1980s when she began writing to CBC Radio's Morningside about a particularly unusual in her late thirties, she headed into the pristine wilderness of British Columbia’s Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. There, she single-handedly cleared the land and — despite a total lack of experience in construction — built her own house.

More than simply a lyrical celebration of the natural world, Cabin at Singing River is a story of courage, perseverance and imagination. From the moment Chris sets her inexperienced foot into an unsteady canoe until the triumphant day she stands back to survey the log house she has built, we are irresistibly drawn into her remarkable journey toward independence.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Memoir, Canada, Autobiography

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Chris Czajkowski is an accomplished writer and spokesperson for wilderness living. She is the author of ten books including Cabin at Singing River (Raincoast Books), Lonesome: Memoirs of a Wilderness Dog (Heritage House Publishing), Snowshoes and Spotted Dick: Letters from a Wilderness Dweller (Harbour Publishing), A Mountain Year: Nature Diary of a Wilderness Dweller
(Harbour Publishing), and Ginty’s Ghost: A Wilderness Dweller’s Dream (Harbour Publishing). Her newest book, And the River Still Sings, is available September 2014, and answers the question "How does one go from English villager to Wilderness Dweller?"

Chris Czajkowski was born and raised at the edge of a large village in England,
until she abandoned the company of others to roam the countryside in search of the natural world. As a young adult she studied dairy farming and travelled to Uganda to teach at a farm school. Returning to England she found nothing to hold her interest, so in 1971 she hitchhiked around the world spending as little time as possible in cities.

Arriving in Canada in 1979, Chris travelled to the West Chilcotin and settled deep in the woods of British Columbia’s Coast Mountains. She called her new home Nuk Tessli and lived there for twenty-three years, turning her paradise into a thriving wilderness
resort and guiding business.

In 2012, after many happy years of living alone in the bush, Chris sold Nuk Tessli, closing a significant chapter of her life.

And the River Still Sings goes beyond the tales of wilderness living, exploring both the experiences that led Chris to a solitary lifestyle and her transition to a life closer to the grid. Her new book offers personal and honest insight into the “Wilderness Dweller.”

Reviews

[Marjorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this short book and the trials and delights of living and building in the wilderness. I wish some of her paintings she sold in Salmon Arm had been shown. This a a happy read. I especially liked the story about the Trumpeter Swans.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Cabin at Singing River. I read it in a very leisurely way. There was no strong plot to pursue or drama to keep me up at night. Instead, author Chris Czajkowski captivated me with literary finesse. When I finally finished, I wanted more. I walked every mountain trail with her, taking in the splendid vistas, the clouds parting, the pounding waterfalls. I chuckled through her humorous description of the visiting friend's complaints on a tough hike. I envied her awesome adventure, to spend so much delicious time in nature -- while at the same time I was safe and comfortable on my couch, with no flies or minus thirty degree winds or cranky chainsaws to deal with. This memoir of her time in the Canadian wilderness is at once both Real and Poetic.(less)

[Marc Rosove · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars. It was fine, with certainly some interesting and informative bits, but probably due to how it was written and assembled, it lacked cohesion.

[Ariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read Czajkowski's book, "Diary of a Wilderness Dweller" for my book club more than a decade ago. For some reason, it felt like a good time to revisit her writing. Cabin at Singing River features essays from the first cabin she built in the same general region as Nuk Tessli (her Wilderness Dweller home). Her descriptions of people, wildlife, hard work, and challenging conditions are crisp, clear, and without too much sentimentality - but they're also sparse, beautiful, and worth savoring. I can see why she became a local CBC celebrity. Anyhow, if you've hung out with me on GoodReads for a while now, you know this is one of my niche genres that I deep dive into now and then. Cabin at Singing River was a great addition to that canon.

[ZeeMi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some exquisitely evocative descriptions of the landscape and fauna of the area in British Columbia where the author built her cabin. But the book's accomplishments end there. No real sense of the author's inner world, her reasons for undertaking such a Sisyphean adventure. What few human relationships exist in the storytelling, are only glancingly told. The author's most meaningful relationship seems to be with her ornery cat. Still, the author's love for this place shines through on every page.

[Eric Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not exactly pulitzer winning prose but an insightful and engaging read none the less. Practical and flowing passages. Really liked the scenery Chris' words produce in the mind's eye. Lots of historical and interesting tidbits on that specific region of BC as well as in general on wilderness living and clearing the way for a pioneer traditional homestead.

[Bryan Burkholder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting content but dry storytelling make this book a chore to finish.

[Amy Doeun · Rating 3 out of 5]

very poetic account of an amazing journey. A little bit more background would be nice but is very enjoyable and a quick read.

[Bev Fournier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read about Chris's adventure living off the grid, building a cabin, learning as she went.

[jessica burger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little read while camping. I will be looking for more of the books from this story!

[dirtsquirrel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this book up and didn’t put it down till I finished it, strong resilient women will always be my favourite subject !

[David A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Self story about a woman who, on her own, with some help of neighbors, fells and strips bark from trees with which she mostly singlehandedly builds her remote home. Very interesting read.

[Kathrin Passig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es war interessant, aber ich würde gern mal ein Buch von einer dieser Wildnispersonen lesen, in dem nicht auf den Rest der Welt runtergeschaut wird. Die Autorin bekommt Besuch von einem Freund und unternimmt eine Wanderung mit ihm. Er hat aber die falschen Schuhe! Den falschen Rucksack! Die falschen Schlafplatzvorlieben! Die falsche Abneigung gegen Pferdebremsen! Die falschen Meinungen über die Natur! Alles an ihm ist lächerlich und verkehrt, so wie in der Welt der Städtebewohner überhaupt alles lächerlich und verkehrt ist. Es erinnert mich an meinen Vater, der in vieler Hinsicht ein sehr kompetenter Mensch war, aber unnötig oft darauf hinweisen musste, dass andere weniger kompetent sind. "Das hast du doch gar nicht nötig", sagte meine Mutter dann, aber natürlich hat es nichts geholfen. Chris Czajkowski hätte es auch nicht nötig. Vielleicht soll ihr Spott über den Freund mit den falschen Angewohnheiten und Vorlieben lustig klingen. Tut er aber nicht.

[Snicketts · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read, and the descriptions were both poetic and detailed. Unfortunately, for me, the book didn't flow. I understand that the basis of the book lay in letters sent for publication in a newspaper, and that is how it read. It was disjointed and therefore you felt a distance from what should have been a much more personal perspective.

There's no doubt that this woman is a brave and resourceful person, as well as being uniquely interesting, and she has written other books since. It will be interesting to see how her work reads when it is written with a book format in mind.

Having said that, I wasn't disappointed by the book. The experiences related and the thoughts of the author were enough to keep me hooked to the end.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating Clarification: 2.5 Stars

Not one of the better "going back to nature" reads out there, IMO (for that, I recommend the books of Helen Hoover). Czajkowski's book did have it's moments, but overall it covered too many technical aspects of building her cabin and not enough of her actual wilderness life lived in it.

Still, I've got to admire her spirit, hard work and dedication to living her dream in the Canadian wilderness.

[D · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning third was great. As someone else pointed out, the book has a strange flow, jumping big periods of time, then focusing on certain events. Overall, it was cool to get a feel for the Tweedsmuir area, and I'd consider reading one of her other books, but I wasn't blown away.

[Kester Bunyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book; in my "read everything to do with remote huts and shacks in the hope of finding out why we have bought one" category. However; Amazing woman, amazing job. Glad we don't get bears (or wolves). Eagles are nice though.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

RIchmond, Virginia

[Marlene Hessdorfer · Rating 2 out of 5]

High on building detail, low on story.

[Nathalie Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and the writing. I felt like I was also present in the journey (in the comfort of my home of course). Want more!