Dang, running across Canada is no joke. I can't believe when Harris lost his first support person his response was just "well, guess I'll just drive myself and hitchhike" with that terrible malfunctioning RV. I needed an epilogue to what happened to SP tho, Harris made it sound like she died.
Take Me Outside: Running Across the Canadian Landscape That Shapes Us, sure, is about running across Canada, all 7200 kilometres of it from St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador to Victoria, British Columbia. The story though is also about the Canada that shapes us — this mosaic of cultures. Just as importantly, Take Me Outside also provides a homily that most of us need to hear: get outside.
The overarching theme is about perseverance wrapped in an adventure of crossing the nation on foot via the Trans Canada Highway. But author Colin Harris, writing from a first-person perspective, takes us through some of what makes us Canadian. The mosaic (not melting pot) informs his introspection during his passage through the ever-changing landscape. Warning, there is little talk of a certain coffee and doughnut franchise, thankfully, and even less about our national sports or beer. Much of what has shaped Canadians seems to be contained in the pieces of that national mosaic; we are a product of our environment; identities borne from our little Corner Gases or Schitt’s Creeks of the Great White North, as it were.
Nice story about a cross-country journey with all its highs and lows. As someone who chose a bike to make the journey from Victoria to Toronto, I can relate to many of the experiences capsulated in Harris’ book. His journey and reflections demonstrated the complexity of Canada - its land, people and history.