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Walking Out
A plane crashes into the Alaskan wild, hundreds of miles from civilization. Lisa survives but finds herself completely alone -- or is she?
169 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1979
76 people want to read
About the author
Ann Elwood
60 books18 followersI live in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California, with six cats, a desert tortoise, seven box turtles, and a German Shepherd, Louis, who looks something like Rin Tin Tin in his soulfulness. At night I can hear the ocean when the tides are high.
When I was nine, my family moved from Ridgewood to Saddle River, New Jersey, a paradise of a town with a woods, a skating pond, a fishing pond, and 700 people who knew who we all were and where we were every minute. I had a shepherd dog, Mac, who died a tragic death, shot because someone thought his foaming-at-the-mouth fear of a thunderstorm meant he had rabies.
As an adult, I had no dogs until I settled down. After college (two miserable years at Trenton State Teachers College and two happy ones at Fairleigh Dickinson College), I taught elementary school for a few miserable years, then moved to Camden, New Jersey and landed a job as a typist-clerk at the Philadelpha Bulletin. When my boss discovered I had difficulty typing up circulation figures with twelve carbons, I was fired and found another job writing copy for a paternalistic insurance company that offered a low salary and delicious free lunch. One of the printers had the magical ability to square up a stack of paper into a perfect cube.
Eventually I moved to a studio apartment on Irving Place in New York City, and, after a few months of writing copy for a textbook company, went on to free-lance as a writer of anything anyone would pay me for. In 1967, I moved to Los Angeles, where I was advertising manager for a publishing company. Then the west coast was a mecca for writers and adventurers. Within a couple of years, I visited a Malibu beach house, fell in love (long-distance) with Bob Dylan, met Thomas Pynchon (he wouldn’t remember it), and saw Hair. In 1972, I returned to free-lancing, moved south, and found my first dog, Puppy, a mixed breed who looked something like a fox. (To show you how inappropriate Puppy’s name became, I’ll tell you this: Puppy died at age 17.) I wrote articles for Irving Wallace and his son, David Wallichinsky (People’s Almanac and Book of Lists), and did other wonderful things I won’t mention here. With Carol Orsag Madigan, I wrote several books.
A desire to delve more deeply into ideas finally drove me to graduate school in 1981. My dissertation focused on an order of 17th and 18th century French nuns so I had to spend a happy year in France doing research. During that year, while not in the archives, I drank local wine with fellow historians and traveled the country with Puppy, who had far less trouble than I did communicating with the French.
Now, I teach history part-time at California State University, San Marcos, spend time with Louis and the other animals, and write the books I have always wanted to write but never had the time for.
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When I was nine, my family moved from Ridgewood to Saddle River, New Jersey, a paradise of a town with a woods, a skating pond, a fishing pond, and 700 people who knew who we all were and where we were every minute. I had a shepherd dog, Mac, who died a tragic death, shot because someone thought his foaming-at-the-mouth fear of a thunderstorm meant he had rabies.
As an adult, I had no dogs until I settled down. After college (two miserable years at Trenton State Teachers College and two happy ones at Fairleigh Dickinson College), I taught elementary school for a few miserable years, then moved to Camden, New Jersey and landed a job as a typist-clerk at the Philadelpha Bulletin. When my boss discovered I had difficulty typing up circulation figures with twelve carbons, I was fired and found another job writing copy for a paternalistic insurance company that offered a low salary and delicious free lunch. One of the printers had the magical ability to square up a stack of paper into a perfect cube.
Eventually I moved to a studio apartment on Irving Place in New York City, and, after a few months of writing copy for a textbook company, went on to free-lance as a writer of anything anyone would pay me for. In 1967, I moved to Los Angeles, where I was advertising manager for a publishing company. Then the west coast was a mecca for writers and adventurers. Within a couple of years, I visited a Malibu beach house, fell in love (long-distance) with Bob Dylan, met Thomas Pynchon (he wouldn’t remember it), and saw Hair. In 1972, I returned to free-lancing, moved south, and found my first dog, Puppy, a mixed breed who looked something like a fox. (To show you how inappropriate Puppy’s name became, I’ll tell you this: Puppy died at age 17.) I wrote articles for Irving Wallace and his son, David Wallichinsky (People’s Almanac and Book of Lists), and did other wonderful things I won’t mention here. With Carol Orsag Madigan, I wrote several books.
A desire to delve more deeply into ideas finally drove me to graduate school in 1981. My dissertation focused on an order of 17th and 18th century French nuns so I had to spend a happy year in France doing research. During that year, while not in the archives, I drank local wine with fellow historians and traveled the country with Puppy, who had far less trouble than I did communicating with the French.
Now, I teach history part-time at California State University, San Marcos, spend time with Louis and the other animals, and write the books I have always wanted to write but never had the time for.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 4, 2019
What starts as a fat-shaming book about a teenaged girl stranded in the wilderness hundreds of miles from nowhere, winds up becoming a kind of transcendent journey of discovery as she realizes that she doesn't need anyone or anything besides herself to be happy.
March 2, 2016
This was my favorite book in high school! I read it over a dozen times.
July 6, 2016
I remember reading this multiple times when I was about 11 or 12. one of my favorites when I was young
June 25, 2025
If you're going to have to bail out of a plane and get lost alone in the middle of nowhere, having been packed & planning to go on an extended hiking/camping trip (complete with a field guide!) is certainly about the best circumstance to be in beforehand, even if you're a novice at it. And if I ever find myself flying over Alaskan wilderness, I certainly hope I'm as good at remembering bits and pieces of this story as this girl is at remembering random lines of poetry her sixth grade English teacher taught them. :D
There's definitely an educational tone to the text about wilderness survival, but it in no way detracts from (and perhaps even enhances) the adventure. I was GRIPPED by this tiny tome, glued to the page to follow along on her journey, hoping nothing catastrophic would happen after her choice to start following the river downstream (Stay Put And Wait For Help is not such useful advice when you're somewhere this remote and miles off-course to boot). The climactic event, as foreshadowed on the cover, is a bit over the top, but still fun. And honestly, I was absorbed in her trek that by the time it happened I'd forgotten it was coming.
There's definitely an educational tone to the text about wilderness survival, but it in no way detracts from (and perhaps even enhances) the adventure. I was GRIPPED by this tiny tome, glued to the page to follow along on her journey, hoping nothing catastrophic would happen after her choice to start following the river downstream (Stay Put And Wait For Help is not such useful advice when you're somewhere this remote and miles off-course to boot). The climactic event, as foreshadowed on the cover, is a bit over the top, but still fun. And honestly, I was absorbed in her trek that by the time it happened I'd forgotten it was coming.
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December 1, 2010aw
May 16, 2011
great read
December 13, 2020
"i may have been lost in the woods for like a month but at least i lost 20 pounds haha" lisa shut UP i am begging
edit: i feel like i was too harsh on Lisa before. it's not her fault that beauty standards are pervasive and toxic. my real frustration with this book is partly due to the back of it saying "exciting, suspenseful reading!" because it was actually very slow-paced and detailed, which is fine, just not what i thought it would be. still glad i read it. if i have to bail out of a plane over the Alaskan wilderness, now i'll know what to do. (assuming that i am as absurdly lucky as Lisa to have a survival pack attached to my parachute AND a plant and animal guide from my outdoorsy friend).
edit: i feel like i was too harsh on Lisa before. it's not her fault that beauty standards are pervasive and toxic. my real frustration with this book is partly due to the back of it saying "exciting, suspenseful reading!" because it was actually very slow-paced and detailed, which is fine, just not what i thought it would be. still glad i read it. if i have to bail out of a plane over the Alaskan wilderness, now i'll know what to do. (assuming that i am as absurdly lucky as Lisa to have a survival pack attached to my parachute AND a plant and animal guide from my outdoorsy friend).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 15, 2021
Love this book great for reading when camping
June 28, 2022
I read this as a kid and remember loving it and being captivated by the survival story. Just read it again today. It is suspenseful and fairly believable. An easy and quick read.
September 11, 2022
I love this book as much as I like "Hatchet" - this is a book of survival in the wilderness with a female protagonist.
June 25, 2023
I read this book as a teenager and loved it. It stuck with me all these years and now in later life I found it on Amazon and reread it again. It’s just as good as I remember. This book is great for all ages.
May 1, 2021
This was one of my favorites as a young reader! I still own it and read it occasionally!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews