Cabin: An Alaska Wilderness Dream

by Eric Wade

Eric Wade built a cabin in remote Alaska where he took his young family, venturing hundreds of miles by small boat. They chased away bears, marveled at giant eagles, stalked moose, and discovered a greater under-standing of family and nature.“A wonderful, addictive love song to the Alaskan wilderness.”—Charles Rangeley-Wilson, author of Silver Shoals and The Silt Road “A poet with an axe, a teacher on a river, forever learning and sharing.”—Kim Heacox, author of Jimmy Bluefeather and The Only Kayak“A tale of decades spent learning, enjoying and sharing a rare gift.”—Howard Weaver, writer and editor at the Anchorage Daily News, where he worked on both of the paper’s two Pulitzer Prize winning series “A soulful story of teacher turned student; a man bent on immersing himself in wilderness ways.”—Debra McKinney, author of Beyond the Bear“Belongs on the shelf of anyone contemplating finding their own version of the Alaska Dream.”—Tom Walker, author of Wild A Photographer’s Life in Alaska and We Live in the Alaskan Bush Eric Wade found the perfect place in the vast wilderness of interior Alaska to move his family. He climbed the river bank to walk on the firm forest floor. He wove through the trees, brushed aside rose bushes, and kicked the ground like checking a tire. The land spread before him with majestic white spruce and views of a sparkling clearwater river. His family would grow to love the landscape as much as he did . . . but over time, his dream changed, as did the land itself.

Genres: Nonfiction

169 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 3, 2019

Reviews

[Anne Dollard]

I started this book before it was fully published and love it. The biggest thing that grabbed me was Eric's love for his wife Doylanne and vice versa. And his love for nature's most tiniest pleasures. The drops on the boat cabin's interior on that long boat trip stick with me. And most of all that you are never too old to chase your wilderness dreams. I have one of those dreams and Eric's adventure writings made me rethink them. Maybe I can still do them.

[Cynthia Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book doesn’t romanticize the living off the grid in the wilderness dream that many hold close. I want to hear much more, sitting around a fire somewhere far away. I can smell it, hear it, taste it while reading this book.

While camping in the mountains near lake Coeur d’Alene, I once was awakened from a deep sleep by wolves calling out in the night. Reading this book gave me back those visceral wilderness memories and the need to know that feeling again before my heart is too old to stand the pure beauty and danger of it. You can be nothing but present in the wild. Alive.

[David Gorman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part adventure, part philosophy, part documentary. It is not an "I can't put it down book", but it is an enjoyable read. I recommend following up with the author's second book, Upstream. Reading both books not only shows his progress as an author, but paints a wonderful portrait of him and his family's journey through life.

[Dan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eric Wade built a cabin in remote Alaska where he took his young family, venturing hundreds of miles by small boat. They chased away bears, marveled at giant eagles, stalked moose, and discovered a greater under-standing of family and nature.

“A wonderful, addictive love song to the Alaskan wilderness.”—Charles Rangeley-Wilson, author of Silver Shoals and The Silt Road

“A poet with an axe, a teacher on a river, forever learning and sharing.”—Kim Heacox, author of Jimmy Bluefeather and The Only Kayak

“A tale of decades spent learning, enjoying and sharing a rare gift.”—Howard Weaver, writer and editor at the Anchorage Daily News, where he worked on both of the paper’s two Pulitzer Prize winning series
“A soulful story of teacher turned student; a man bent on immersing himself in wilderness ways.”—Debra McKinney, author of Beyond the Bear

“Belongs on the shelf of anyone contemplating finding their own version of the Alaska Dream.”—Tom Walker, author of Wild Shots: A Photographer’s Life in Alaska and We Live in the Alaskan Bush


Eric Wade found the perfect place in the vast wilderness of interior Alaska to move his family. He climbed the river bank to walk on the firm forest floor. He wove through the trees, brushed aside rose bushes, and kicked the ground like checking a tire. The land spread before him with majestic white spruce and views of a sparkling clearwater river. His family would grow to love the landscape as much as he did . . . but over time, his dream changed, as did the land itself.

[Yvonne Panaro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Building a cabin

I rather enjoyed reading his adventures in the wilderness. The only thing I found to criticize is that there was no steady time sequence.
He’d be talking about a visit with his sons to the cabin and would insert information or talk about people from a different period of time. The back and forth I did not enjoy.

[Vincent Matusheski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice Adventure

Very nice writing. Good learning experience. Calls the reader back for more adventure pages. The jump cuts in time and location could have a more explanatory introduction. Once you are well into the book, it begins to cruise well and land smoothly.

[Larry H. Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable book and educational too.

This is a good read. Well written fast moving and full of life experiences that reward the reader. I was able to vicariously relive the experiences and adventures of living in the Alaskan wilderness. I appreciated the lessons learned.

[linda stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

A true story about a journey I would like to make. But wilderness is disappearing. Good advice. Find a place you live.

[Lisa Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

,

[Audrey Haugen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summer home in Alaska

A dream of many young men but getting a woman to go along is something else with all the bugs.

[PATRICIA G WILSON · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astute storyteller

Well written account of one man, his family, friends and adventure into true wilderness. Written with an eye for real beauty and an appreciation for solitude.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book. It was slow and gentle in a good way. Better writing than most Kindle Unlimited books.

[Travis Reich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

Great vision and very inspiring. The author really shared their enthusiasm and you almost can picture the idyllic scenery of the homestead.

[Phil · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm obviously in a minority, but I really struggled with this book.

For one thing, it hops around all over the place - one minute, you're reading an anecdote from 1996, then you jump to 2016, then back to the 90s... The author does mention at the start that he will be presenting his stories in a 'non linear manner', but he doesn't really give a good reason. It just feels as if he wanted to jot down what he remembered as he remembered it and couldn't be bothered to edit it or arrange it into any kind of logical order for the reader.

I also found the book extremely repetitive - most of it seemed to consist of descriptions of the family's journeys to and from their cabin, and to be honest, there's only so many times you can read about boats getting stuck and engines breaking down before it becomes a bit boring.

Also, the book was billed as the account of a family living in a cabin in the wilderness, but we're over three quarters of the way through the book before they move in - before that, it's all dreams about living there, plans for living there, reflections back on their time living there and those endless, repetitive boat journeys to survey the place. And once they do move in, it's basically "We started spending 7 weeks a year in our remote cabin. We shot bear and moose and swam and fished and really liked it but we missed ice cream and didn't like the midges. The End."

Doubly frustrating because there are glimmers of a really good book in the midst of all this stuff, but it just feels like the author lost interest.

[Patricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the book rather boring, Had to force myself to finish it.

[Leslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mixed feelings. Definitely captured the difficulty of existing in the wilderness and trying to live there. Strong descriptions of the natural surroundings. Some parts felt repetitive.

[Aaron Neiswonger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty choppy and over detailed. Not terrible but not great.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars really. Pretty decent, loving, tender, nostalgic story about carving out a life in the Alaskan wilderness, with several small children in tow. It did get a bit redundant for me; many times going up or down river or seeing a bear or moose or catching a fish. I get it. That is life out in the wilderness. It is wondrous to be out in nature, especially the wilds of Alaska, but translating that wonder for a reader is no easy task. Still, I enjoyed his very apparent love for the land and his family and applaud anyone that fulfills a long-held dream.

[Debbie James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet book

What a wonderful book. So reflective.it made me feel the peace of the river and makes me aware of what is important in life.such a joy to read

[Frances Dingle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Puts you in the moment

What a great memoir. I loved how the author told the story in short bits. His memories put you right there along side. Such an enjoyable read.

[randymotorcars-intl.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cabin on the river experience

Well told story of a mans love for the wilderness.A heartfelt romp in the woods.A vivid journey of ones dreams.A must read book.

[stanley cox · Rating 1 out of 5]

I quit reading when the author said he liked moose. That’s why he wanted to kill them with one shot.