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Out of the Forest
For years a man calling himself Will Power lived in near-total isolation in northern New South Wales, foraging for food, eating bats and occasionally trading for produce. But who was this mysterious man who roamed the forest and knew all of its secrets and riddles? Some people thought he might be Jesus. Others feared he was a more sinister figure. The truth was that he was neither miraculous nor malevolent, but he was, most certainly, gifted. And when he finally emerged from the forest, emaciated and close to death, he was determined to reclaim his real name and ‘give society another chance’. Today, Dr Gregory Peel Smith, who left school at the age of fourteen, has a PhD and teaches in the Social Sciences at university. His profoundly touching and uplifting memoir is at once a unique insight into how far off track a life can go and powerful reminder that we can all find our way back if we pause for a moment in the heart of the forest.
352 pages, Paperback
First published May 28, 2018
49 people are currently reading
1051 people want to read
About the author
Gregory P. Smith
2 books20 followersGregory Smith was homeless for much of his adult life. He now has a PhD in Sociology and teaches in the Social Sciences at Southern Cross University
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews
August 26, 2018
Wow. I just learned something about my dad. His traumatic childhood was part of a recognised collective experience. My dad is a Forgotten Australian. I've just finished this book and I am sitting here, on the verge of tears, with a whole new understanding of my world and my past. I wish you could have read this book, dad. I'm so glad I did. Thanks Dr Gregory Smith for writing about something that history has tried to sweep away. There is a legacy that can not be swept away. Thank you for recognising that. I'm going to recommend this book to my whole family.
February 8, 2019
I’m lost for words. An almost unbelievable account of a traumatic life. Australia’s institutions and the legalized drug of alcohol have a lot to answer for!
There is something very ironic when a man who called himself Will Power as a recluse uses every ounce of willpower to turn his life around so dramatically. Lots of sadness in this book - the abuse suffered is horrific - but I’m incredulous at the direction Gregory’s life took after he made the decision to rejoin society. He has given more to our society than most people would in their lifetime.
I’m so glad I’ve read this story. What an amazing person. I would have been so scared if I had ever met him on the street but as he said in his story - he would of been more scared of me!
There is something very ironic when a man who called himself Will Power as a recluse uses every ounce of willpower to turn his life around so dramatically. Lots of sadness in this book - the abuse suffered is horrific - but I’m incredulous at the direction Gregory’s life took after he made the decision to rejoin society. He has given more to our society than most people would in their lifetime.
I’m so glad I’ve read this story. What an amazing person. I would have been so scared if I had ever met him on the street but as he said in his story - he would of been more scared of me!
January 24, 2025
What an utter shock it was for me to finish Out of the Forest and find myself almost tearing up and feeling such huge admiration for the author. Not only that, but I've thought of this book often for a week since finishing it. The reason I am so surprised by this is that for the first half of the memoir I had to force myself to keep listening. I did not like the man at the centre of the story, Gregory P Smith. I didn't appreciate his behavior. I disliked his life choices and the way he lived his life - almost intentionally destroying every opportunity handed to him - and I did not respect his lifestyle. For a person who thinks of herself as empathetic and not really judgmental, I couldn't believe how lacking in empathy I was.
Gregory P Smith was raised in a volatile home where domestic violence was a daily occurrence and alcoholism was rife. As young children, he and his four sisters were unceremoniously dumped at an orphanage for a couple of years where they were separated, and Gregory was mistreated (sexually abused). He had dreadful self-esteem, and wanting to escape the abuse he continued to run away. Being on the run often meant he found himself stealing, going hungry, and was certainly not developing meaningful relationships with anyone. As he got older his avoidance of relationships with other people, meant he often let down the few people who really tried to reach out and offer help. As he got older, he also discovered that alcohol and drugs were a great way to numb the pain of life, but he was an aggressive drunk. He would go out of his way to have a fight (learnt behavior from his father no doubt). Eventually, he was sleeping on the streets and this really only served to further separate him from "normal" society.
Writing that paragraph, I have nothing but empathy for any child who has to endure a life like that. How was I so dispassionate about it when I was reading his story?
I realise that in writing the memoir, Gregory P Smith had a choice. He could have played the sympathy and pity cards, but instead he chose not to give us the rose coloured glasses version of his life. We got it warts and all, and quite likely made himself sound less likeable than he was in reality. However, in doing so, it only served to make my change in opinion about the author all the more remarkable. Before I started reading, I knew he went off grid and spent a decade in the forest. I mean it was in the blurb so that's not a spoiler. However, I kind of imagined a clean-living man who really sorted himself out whilst he was amongst nature for all those years. In reality, he didn't make it sound that way. He grew his own drugs, most of which he ate or smoked - ingested in some way - the rest of which he sold to ensure he had some basic necessities. He also did not give up the grog but instead found a way to make his own and he found a more than adequate supply of magic mushrooms. In short, his physical and mental health declined to the point where he realised his life was likely to end quite soon if he didn't come out of the forest.
His re-entry into society was not easy but it was hugely successful over time. The last third of the book, where he writes of these years trying to reassimilate, is where my admiration kicked into overdrive. Gregory P Smith had not been an educated boy, but he certainly became an educated man, and he went on to become Dr. Gregory P Smith. His about face was nothing short of incredible. As the closing sentence of the blurb states
Gregory P Smith was raised in a volatile home where domestic violence was a daily occurrence and alcoholism was rife. As young children, he and his four sisters were unceremoniously dumped at an orphanage for a couple of years where they were separated, and Gregory was mistreated (sexually abused). He had dreadful self-esteem, and wanting to escape the abuse he continued to run away. Being on the run often meant he found himself stealing, going hungry, and was certainly not developing meaningful relationships with anyone. As he got older his avoidance of relationships with other people, meant he often let down the few people who really tried to reach out and offer help. As he got older, he also discovered that alcohol and drugs were a great way to numb the pain of life, but he was an aggressive drunk. He would go out of his way to have a fight (learnt behavior from his father no doubt). Eventually, he was sleeping on the streets and this really only served to further separate him from "normal" society.
Writing that paragraph, I have nothing but empathy for any child who has to endure a life like that. How was I so dispassionate about it when I was reading his story?
I realise that in writing the memoir, Gregory P Smith had a choice. He could have played the sympathy and pity cards, but instead he chose not to give us the rose coloured glasses version of his life. We got it warts and all, and quite likely made himself sound less likeable than he was in reality. However, in doing so, it only served to make my change in opinion about the author all the more remarkable. Before I started reading, I knew he went off grid and spent a decade in the forest. I mean it was in the blurb so that's not a spoiler. However, I kind of imagined a clean-living man who really sorted himself out whilst he was amongst nature for all those years. In reality, he didn't make it sound that way. He grew his own drugs, most of which he ate or smoked - ingested in some way - the rest of which he sold to ensure he had some basic necessities. He also did not give up the grog but instead found a way to make his own and he found a more than adequate supply of magic mushrooms. In short, his physical and mental health declined to the point where he realised his life was likely to end quite soon if he didn't come out of the forest.
His re-entry into society was not easy but it was hugely successful over time. The last third of the book, where he writes of these years trying to reassimilate, is where my admiration kicked into overdrive. Gregory P Smith had not been an educated boy, but he certainly became an educated man, and he went on to become Dr. Gregory P Smith. His about face was nothing short of incredible. As the closing sentence of the blurb states
"...His profoundly touching and uplifting memoir is at once a unique insight into how far off track a life can go and powerful reminder that we can all find our way back if we pause for a moment in the heart of the forest".
November 18, 2018
What an incredible, insightful read! Couldn’t put it down - a fascinating story and so well written. Loved so many parts of this book and I’m certain it’s one of those reads that will stay with me forever.
May 20, 2019
I was dumbfounded with the list of remarkable accomplishments that he had achieved after he emerged from the forest ten years later. Through this book, I've realised how lacking our patience and understanding of the homeless and others who are struggling in their lives. We tend to judge and have negative perceptions about the homeless. It never comes to our mind that they are not as lucky as us, having good people to help us when we experience hard times.
Book Review - Out of the Forest by Gregory Smith.
Book Review - Out of the Forest by Gregory Smith.
February 24, 2019
‘Be there at the end’ Words to live by
May 13, 2018
OUT OF THE FOREST by Gregory P. Smith with Craig Henderson A Penguin Random House book
Review by Ian Smith
This story is so improbable you could be forgiven for thinking it’s pure fiction. In fact, I’ve read many fiction works that weren’t as extreme as this. It contains some of the most appalling things done to a human being imaginable and has Martian type characters involved when he’s camped in the bush for a decade. This man has struggles few of us could envision and yet, yet he survived and returned to society. I’m still lying awake at night thinking about Gregory’s story.
Not surprisingly, it starts out with an abusive childhood. While the mother drives the four daughters and Gregory relentlessly, the father ritually comes home drunk every night and beats Gregory up. In addition, he’s bullied at school; his middle name is Peel and that gets twisted in so many ways. No surprise then that he is desperate to get away from the situation but all his attempts end up in failure one way or the other.
When he’s aged ten, the children are shipped off to a Catholic orphanage at Armidale called St. Patricks. At last some sanity you will think. Wrong, it just goes downhill again. While the boys lined up naked (except for a towel) awaiting their turn at the bath, girls from 14 to 16 ritually sexually abused them, all overseen by a sister, and that’s just one part of it. It just made me want to reach out and make things better but, of course, that’s just wishful thinking.
Back to Tamworth in less than two years and the same old beatings until he came of working age and started getting jobs as well as continuing petty crime which ultimately led him to a few institutions where, ultimately, he is diagnosed as sociopathic.
A life of sleeping rough and descending into drug abuse ensues until he meets a lovely lady who he eventually marries and moves to Sydney with and they start having a child but, Gregory has been exiled from the home and divorced by the time the daughter comes into being. Alcohol and drugs being the key still.
After that, you’re liable to find him anywhere from North Queensland to Melbourne, sometimes employed, sometimes not, mostly sleeping rough, but he’s obviously unsettled until, one day inland from Mullumbimby, he goes bush. The next ten years are astonishing, to put it mildly. Somewhere out the back of Goonengerry he makes a kind of life, walking, from time to time, into Mullumbimby or Byron Bay to replenish supplies but he hasn’t given up on substance abuse, far from it. He has his own marijuana plantation (which also earns him a small income), brews his own beer and gets smashed every time he goes into town.
The demons in his mind and his emaciated self eventually force him back to civilization and how he gets from being a 41kg homeless person to becoming a doctor of sociology is beyond amazing. His problems associating with other humans lessen to a large degree but still remain. Reuniting with his sisters and daughter brings him to tears (and me as well).
This is simply one of the most emotional books I’ve ever read and I can’t recommend it highly enough, a riveting and extraordinary tale.
Review by Ian Smith
This story is so improbable you could be forgiven for thinking it’s pure fiction. In fact, I’ve read many fiction works that weren’t as extreme as this. It contains some of the most appalling things done to a human being imaginable and has Martian type characters involved when he’s camped in the bush for a decade. This man has struggles few of us could envision and yet, yet he survived and returned to society. I’m still lying awake at night thinking about Gregory’s story.
Not surprisingly, it starts out with an abusive childhood. While the mother drives the four daughters and Gregory relentlessly, the father ritually comes home drunk every night and beats Gregory up. In addition, he’s bullied at school; his middle name is Peel and that gets twisted in so many ways. No surprise then that he is desperate to get away from the situation but all his attempts end up in failure one way or the other.
When he’s aged ten, the children are shipped off to a Catholic orphanage at Armidale called St. Patricks. At last some sanity you will think. Wrong, it just goes downhill again. While the boys lined up naked (except for a towel) awaiting their turn at the bath, girls from 14 to 16 ritually sexually abused them, all overseen by a sister, and that’s just one part of it. It just made me want to reach out and make things better but, of course, that’s just wishful thinking.
Back to Tamworth in less than two years and the same old beatings until he came of working age and started getting jobs as well as continuing petty crime which ultimately led him to a few institutions where, ultimately, he is diagnosed as sociopathic.
A life of sleeping rough and descending into drug abuse ensues until he meets a lovely lady who he eventually marries and moves to Sydney with and they start having a child but, Gregory has been exiled from the home and divorced by the time the daughter comes into being. Alcohol and drugs being the key still.
After that, you’re liable to find him anywhere from North Queensland to Melbourne, sometimes employed, sometimes not, mostly sleeping rough, but he’s obviously unsettled until, one day inland from Mullumbimby, he goes bush. The next ten years are astonishing, to put it mildly. Somewhere out the back of Goonengerry he makes a kind of life, walking, from time to time, into Mullumbimby or Byron Bay to replenish supplies but he hasn’t given up on substance abuse, far from it. He has his own marijuana plantation (which also earns him a small income), brews his own beer and gets smashed every time he goes into town.
The demons in his mind and his emaciated self eventually force him back to civilization and how he gets from being a 41kg homeless person to becoming a doctor of sociology is beyond amazing. His problems associating with other humans lessen to a large degree but still remain. Reuniting with his sisters and daughter brings him to tears (and me as well).
This is simply one of the most emotional books I’ve ever read and I can’t recommend it highly enough, a riveting and extraordinary tale.
May 29, 2019
4.5*
"Be there at the end"
Out of the Forest is such a fascinating, heartbreaking and overall inspiring account of the life of a 'forgotten Australian' and the struggles he endured to live and succeed despite the obstacles. Gregory's childhood experiences in institutional care and the foster system were hard to read, but even more so is the overwhelming number of children he represents who had similar experiences in this country. I found the references to Tamworth and other parts of that region especially interesting as I've spent time there, so I could contextualize those aspects a bit more, and Gregory' s account of his years in the rainforest were fascinating because his life was just so far from anything I've known. Definitely recommend this one! I listened on Audible and found it hard to stop listening!
"Be there at the end"
Out of the Forest is such a fascinating, heartbreaking and overall inspiring account of the life of a 'forgotten Australian' and the struggles he endured to live and succeed despite the obstacles. Gregory's childhood experiences in institutional care and the foster system were hard to read, but even more so is the overwhelming number of children he represents who had similar experiences in this country. I found the references to Tamworth and other parts of that region especially interesting as I've spent time there, so I could contextualize those aspects a bit more, and Gregory' s account of his years in the rainforest were fascinating because his life was just so far from anything I've known. Definitely recommend this one! I listened on Audible and found it hard to stop listening!
June 15, 2024
Held off a day on this one to let simmer. This was heart breaking and uplifting at the same time, the story of a man who has been through it all. It really put into perspective how much the so called 'carers' in a person's life can destroy a child they should be protecting and nurturing.
I would seriously recommend any Australian's especially those from northern NSW or SE QLD to read this book it will give you more perspective of what anyone could have gone through in life. Please read this book the story inside is incredibly important for more people to have heard.
I would seriously recommend any Australian's especially those from northern NSW or SE QLD to read this book it will give you more perspective of what anyone could have gone through in life. Please read this book the story inside is incredibly important for more people to have heard.
February 23, 2019
A remarkable story of resilience, survival and transformation. I found most of it quite depressing and the mistreatment of the author and his sisters as children was awful. Luckily for me I couldn’t relate to a single thing about his life, I just found the whole drugged, drunken, homeless, forest dwelling part very sad. It’s brilliant the way he has turned his life around and the last part of his story was uplifting. I kept wondering about his sisters so I’m glad he told us a little about them in the end as well.
November 8, 2019
This is such a profound story. I was captivated from beginning to end. The writing flows easily, and there are some great little bits of humour thrown in that make the heavier parts a bit lighter. There are some great life mantras in this book too. It reminded me a lot of Educated by Tara Westover.
December 30, 2018
Sometimes people will say to me, "I only like reading biographies" when I ask if they enjoy fiction.
And I can understand why that might be so: the idea that this is the story of a real person rather than an invented character. I personally will read books across a wide range but do gravitate to fiction above anything else.
Nevertheless over Christmas a biography came to me which is one of the most compelling and moving accounts I have ever read. It is the memoir of a man who spent ten years living as an alcoholic drug-crazed recluse high in the New South Wales forest, (with occasional forays down the mountain to the local hippy community to sell his crop of marijuana, and spend his income on alcohol). This man now holds a PhD and is an academic at the Southern Cross University at their Lismore campus in New South Wales, where he teaches Social Sciences. His name is Dr Gregory Peel Smith, and his story takes him from a severely abusive childhood and period of torment in a Catholic orphanage, through years of mental suffering, self-destructive behaviour, alcoholism and drug addiction and self-imposed isolation, to his present life.
Partly because I know the area Gregory is writing about (having lived in Brisbane for four and a half years myself, and having visited the areas of the New South Wales coastline, and spent time in the very mountains of which he speaks) I read this account with intense interest. But as Gregory describes his journey through the depths of human anguish, into self-imposed exile from human society, and all the gruesome details of what it takes to survive in isolation in the wild, I was totally captivated. This book has a strong spiritual character, despite Gregory's disavowal of the Christian religion (not surprising when you read of the physical and spiritual and psychological abuse he received from the Catholic nuns in the orphanage.)
And the way in which Gregory rehabilitates himself, upon emerging from ten years in the forest, is deeply moving and inspiring. Although later on he is greatly helped by certain individuals whom he identifies as angels, in the early stages he transforms his life solely through his own inner resources. He describes in detail his method for "mounting a mental counter-insurgency" against his inner demons which I believe would be immensely helpful for anyone who has gone through any experience approximating to his kind of mental suffering and turmoil. Though his case was extreme I believe it will be of great value to many, and not only those who have been through comparable extreme experiences.
Naturally I highly recommend this book, and not only to a general readership but to those interested or engaged in psychotherapy and personal spiritual transformation.
And I can understand why that might be so: the idea that this is the story of a real person rather than an invented character. I personally will read books across a wide range but do gravitate to fiction above anything else.
Nevertheless over Christmas a biography came to me which is one of the most compelling and moving accounts I have ever read. It is the memoir of a man who spent ten years living as an alcoholic drug-crazed recluse high in the New South Wales forest, (with occasional forays down the mountain to the local hippy community to sell his crop of marijuana, and spend his income on alcohol). This man now holds a PhD and is an academic at the Southern Cross University at their Lismore campus in New South Wales, where he teaches Social Sciences. His name is Dr Gregory Peel Smith, and his story takes him from a severely abusive childhood and period of torment in a Catholic orphanage, through years of mental suffering, self-destructive behaviour, alcoholism and drug addiction and self-imposed isolation, to his present life.
Partly because I know the area Gregory is writing about (having lived in Brisbane for four and a half years myself, and having visited the areas of the New South Wales coastline, and spent time in the very mountains of which he speaks) I read this account with intense interest. But as Gregory describes his journey through the depths of human anguish, into self-imposed exile from human society, and all the gruesome details of what it takes to survive in isolation in the wild, I was totally captivated. This book has a strong spiritual character, despite Gregory's disavowal of the Christian religion (not surprising when you read of the physical and spiritual and psychological abuse he received from the Catholic nuns in the orphanage.)
And the way in which Gregory rehabilitates himself, upon emerging from ten years in the forest, is deeply moving and inspiring. Although later on he is greatly helped by certain individuals whom he identifies as angels, in the early stages he transforms his life solely through his own inner resources. He describes in detail his method for "mounting a mental counter-insurgency" against his inner demons which I believe would be immensely helpful for anyone who has gone through any experience approximating to his kind of mental suffering and turmoil. Though his case was extreme I believe it will be of great value to many, and not only those who have been through comparable extreme experiences.
Naturally I highly recommend this book, and not only to a general readership but to those interested or engaged in psychotherapy and personal spiritual transformation.
October 15, 2019
Hard to review. I don't often like personal narratives like this, and don't agree with some of the conclusions that he arrived at. But he makes some very important points and describes a very important process that we should all undertake.
July 1, 2021
3.5. 20 % of the book was spent talking about living in the forest, the other 80% was about being raised in a dysfunctional society. Good story but I wanted more about the forest. Perhaps my next book should be In To The Forest.
January 9, 2020
What an amazing story.
July 4, 2022
This book is a must read for everyone. Gregory Smith talks openly and candidly about his life. In the second paragraph in the first chapter he writes “According to my mother I was two years old when my father picked me up by one foot and flung me head first into the lounge room wall.” And thus was the life of Gregory Smith. He grew up in a household ruled by alcohol, drugs and violence. At the age of 10 his mother inexplicably dumped him and 4 of his sisters at an orphanage. That was where he spent the next 16 months and the abuse was worse than what was dished out at home. Gregory’s life continued to spiral out of control with stints in juvenile facilities and gaol where he was labeled a sociopath with no chance of rehabilitation. He lived off the streets and then disappeared into the forest where he lived as a hermit for 10 years. He finally emerged extremely ill but with the will to improve his life and improve his life he did!!! This book shows the determination of one man to turn his life around. He is also an advocate for other Forgotten Australians and has striven to highlight the effects institutional life had on so many young people.
August 7, 2021
A harrowing but awe inspiring book, showing in brutal honesty the impacts that being one of the Forgotten Australians had on this man. This is an insightful read but it is also absolutely inspiring. Abused, rejected, shunned, forgotten by society.. rejects and shuns the society that so let him down. But still manages to not only integrate back into the society but achieves academic success to be able to educate the wider public about the things that happened, to help achieve acknowledgement for others with similar experiences. Just absolutely amazing
January 27, 2020
An incredible story. The author bears his soul and life story here. The message I take from it: there is no hardship in life you cannot transcend. The author had to endure some truly terrible people and circumstances. This book will have you marvel at his sheer resilience, tenacity and his ability to unlearn some powerful & damaging behaviours. Highly recommend.
June 7, 2021
I really enjoyed this book for its back to basics, raw truth. Dr Gregory didn’t sugar coat his story or try to PG rate it.
I hope you know Dr Gregory how well you’ve done for yourself. Well done! I have an uncle who has had a drug and alcohol addiction since he was about 13 years old. He’s now 64 and homeless by choice.
Thanks for sharing. I loved reading your story.
I hope you know Dr Gregory how well you’ve done for yourself. Well done! I have an uncle who has had a drug and alcohol addiction since he was about 13 years old. He’s now 64 and homeless by choice.
Thanks for sharing. I loved reading your story.
August 11, 2021
A quite confronting book about childhood abuse and violence which in turn led the author on a path of a life of violence, addiction and isolation. The author was a victim but it was confronting to observe the extent that this led to him victimising others.
6.5/10
6.5/10
September 16, 2018
A testament to the power of education and giving a voice to the voiceless. Loved it.
February 5, 2022
An amazing story that gives a unique insight into Australia's history and the challenges faced by a lost generation.
February 28, 2025
Reading this book has been a deeply moving experience, prompting reflection on the strength of the human spirit and the capacity for change, no matter how dire the circumstances. It’s a testament to the idea that it’s never too late to turn your life around. highly recommend 👍👍
January 19, 2020
This is one of those "life-changing" books. It should be a compulsory read for all, and it will most likely change your behaviour next time you pass a homeless person.
January 27, 2020
What an inspiring & touching story, to turn your life around after such trauma & violence is nothing of incredible. Nature helps us find the way in so many ways ❤️
May 18, 2023
I think every Australian should read this, it's a real eyeopener what should come with a trigger warning. It's not what I expected when I bought it for a friend for Christmas , it will be a book I ponder upon mentally for years to come.
What a harrowing life that finishes on such a positive note. Makes me, yet again, so grateful for my early life and opportunities to thrive.
What a harrowing life that finishes on such a positive note. Makes me, yet again, so grateful for my early life and opportunities to thrive.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 4, 2025
What a story! What an incredible story. What an incredibly sad story, with an amazing outcome, due to sheer determination, intellect and self awareness.
August 7, 2019
I thought what a strong character Gregory is,
February 10, 2022
A harrowing read about child abuse and being institutionalised and the consequences of how it is lived out.. but also a story of hope and determination to learn and acknowledge and work through the traumas.
Loved his saying “be there at the end”
Loved his saying “be there at the end”
August 14, 2021
All I can say is wow what a read. I don't think this story will leave me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews