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There's a Bear in the House!
From the New York Times bestselling author of Up in the Air comes a short and heartwarming true story about fathers and sons and how to say goodbye when there’s nothing left to say.
The last wish of Walter Kirn’s terminally ill father is to spend his final days in his remote Montana cabin. Trapped in life’s loneliest predicament, he sticks with his pleasures: nature, Murder, She Wrote, and reminiscing with his adult son. The only thing Walter didn’t foresee is the bear rooting outside his father’s sickroom window—a bold and curious yearling with whom Walter forms a unique and consoling bond.
The last wish of Walter Kirn’s terminally ill father is to spend his final days in his remote Montana cabin. Trapped in life’s loneliest predicament, he sticks with his pleasures: nature, Murder, She Wrote, and reminiscing with his adult son. The only thing Walter didn’t foresee is the bear rooting outside his father’s sickroom window—a bold and curious yearling with whom Walter forms a unique and consoling bond.
29 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 17, 2022
162 people are currently reading
174 people want to read
About the author
Walter Kirn
39 books238 followersWalter Kirn is a regular reviewer for The New York Times Book Review, and his work appears in The Atlantic, The New York Times Magazine, Vogue, Time, New York, GQ and Esquire. He is the author of six previous works of fiction: My Hard Bargain: Stories, She Needed Me, Thumbsucker, Up in the Air, Mission to America and The Unbinding. Kirn is a graduate of Princeton University and attended Oxford on a scholarship from the Keasby Foundation. "
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
February 4, 2022
Walter Kirn's emotional short story examines the relationship between a dying father and his son. Walt is very different from his father, is not close to him, and when his father expresses his wish to die at his remote cabin in Montana, 40 minutes away from his home, he wonders if he is indeed close to death. When his lawyer father arrives from Tucson to the cabin in a Winnebago, it is obvious he is approaching the end of his life, intent on focusing on engaging with his son and grandchildren, nature and watching Murder She Wrote, leaving Walt to address the difficult challenges of looking after him. As his father slips away, a grieving Walt finds solace and consolation in the mystical and transcendent, with a young bear visiting the cabin and in the majesty of a tree. Many thanks to Amazon Original Stories for an ARC.
February 13, 2022
4 "touching, humorous, memoiric" stars !!
Thank you to the author, Netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for an e-copy of this 15 minute read story. I am providing my honest review.
Mr. Kirn is a well respected author and journalist. Here he details the final days he spends with his father in a cabin in Montana prior to his father's demise. Through the last days he recounts his challenges with his dad and despite this provides him with loving care during his last days while attempting to make peace with a man who is very different than him. The story is both pragmatic and spiritual with a distance from the emotions that keep many fathers and sons safe from each other and themselves.
A young bear and a tree provide the kismet and wonder that are inherent in our worlds if we choose to engage and look. Some lovely photographs add poignancy to the story.
Thank you to the author, Netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for an e-copy of this 15 minute read story. I am providing my honest review.
Mr. Kirn is a well respected author and journalist. Here he details the final days he spends with his father in a cabin in Montana prior to his father's demise. Through the last days he recounts his challenges with his dad and despite this provides him with loving care during his last days while attempting to make peace with a man who is very different than him. The story is both pragmatic and spiritual with a distance from the emotions that keep many fathers and sons safe from each other and themselves.
A young bear and a tree provide the kismet and wonder that are inherent in our worlds if we choose to engage and look. Some lovely photographs add poignancy to the story.
December 14, 2023
Short review, coz I really don’t have much to say about this.
I picked this up only for the title. Didn’t realise that it was a true story based on the last wish of the author’s terminally ill father.
The initial part is quite moving, where senior Kirn insists that he wants to spend his final days in a remote Montana cabin. The bear makes an appearance only for a brief time, and because the title is such a spoiler, any element of surprise about encountering a bear is ruined. The covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown also play a role in this mini-memoir.
I liked the emotional elements about grief and loss much more than the bear encounter. The pain of watching a loved one close to death while being unable to do anything comes out strongly.
The use of actual photographs, including one with the bear, adds to the impact. Better if you check out the photos on a colour screen device because on the kindle e-reader, they look boring.
A onetime read for me. Might have worked better had I known in advance that I was reading a true-life narrative and not a fictional story about a bear. It wouldn’t have seemed so disjointed then! My fault for jumping at the work on reading just the title and nothing else.
3 stars.
This standalone anecdotal narrative is currently available free to Amazon Prime subscribers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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I picked this up only for the title. Didn’t realise that it was a true story based on the last wish of the author’s terminally ill father.
The initial part is quite moving, where senior Kirn insists that he wants to spend his final days in a remote Montana cabin. The bear makes an appearance only for a brief time, and because the title is such a spoiler, any element of surprise about encountering a bear is ruined. The covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown also play a role in this mini-memoir.
I liked the emotional elements about grief and loss much more than the bear encounter. The pain of watching a loved one close to death while being unable to do anything comes out strongly.
The use of actual photographs, including one with the bear, adds to the impact. Better if you check out the photos on a colour screen device because on the kindle e-reader, they look boring.
A onetime read for me. Might have worked better had I known in advance that I was reading a true-life narrative and not a fictional story about a bear. It wouldn’t have seemed so disjointed then! My fault for jumping at the work on reading just the title and nothing else.
3 stars.
This standalone anecdotal narrative is currently available free to Amazon Prime subscribers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || X/Twitter || Facebook ||
February 10, 2022
This short story, best described as a memoir, tells of the last few weeks of the author's father's life which the two spent together in the father's upscale cabin in Montana. It was very well written although sad to read how quickly ALS stole the father's abilities. A very touching end to the story.
Thanks to Amazon Original Stories via Netgalley for the opportunity to read this short story. All opinions expressed are my own.
Expected Publication: February 17, 2022.
Thanks to Amazon Original Stories via Netgalley for the opportunity to read this short story. All opinions expressed are my own.
Expected Publication: February 17, 2022.
November 12, 2022
3.5★
“My late mother’s father, a city man, a doctor, took me aside once at Thanksgiving after a dinner of ducks and pheasant and whispered, ‘Your father’s a savage. Don’t be like him.’”
This reads like a family anecdote, a story that has probably been told many times within the family and to friends since it happened.
The author’s father is dying and wants to end his days in his cabin in Montana, near the wilderness and wildlife he loved. Years ago, he’d been a hunter.
“Half of our meals then were of game he’d killed and began with a ritual warning: ‘Don’t bite a pellet.’”
The author reminisces about the years gone by and how his father is no longer a hunter. And of course, he writes about the bear. A real live bear in the house. (Photographic evidence!)
This isn’t a grim, hand-holding story about death, although that’s certainly part of it. I think it’s more the recognition of a parent as an individual, and how they live outside of us and fit into the world in ways we may not be aware of. It’s sometimes a hard thing to get your head around.
On a technical note, if you read on a Kindle with a black and white screen, I recommend using the Kindle app on a device with colour so you can enjoy the photos better.
Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the preview copy.
“My late mother’s father, a city man, a doctor, took me aside once at Thanksgiving after a dinner of ducks and pheasant and whispered, ‘Your father’s a savage. Don’t be like him.’”
This reads like a family anecdote, a story that has probably been told many times within the family and to friends since it happened.
The author’s father is dying and wants to end his days in his cabin in Montana, near the wilderness and wildlife he loved. Years ago, he’d been a hunter.
“Half of our meals then were of game he’d killed and began with a ritual warning: ‘Don’t bite a pellet.’”
The author reminisces about the years gone by and how his father is no longer a hunter. And of course, he writes about the bear. A real live bear in the house. (Photographic evidence!)
This isn’t a grim, hand-holding story about death, although that’s certainly part of it. I think it’s more the recognition of a parent as an individual, and how they live outside of us and fit into the world in ways we may not be aware of. It’s sometimes a hard thing to get your head around.
On a technical note, if you read on a Kindle with a black and white screen, I recommend using the Kindle app on a device with colour so you can enjoy the photos better.
Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the preview copy.
August 13, 2022
It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on grief, terminal illness, the death of a loved one, & others.
Walter’s father has requested a move from Arizona to Montana, he is on his last leg, though once he’s arrived at the cottage-style home nestled in the wilderness he will have lost the use of those too. In a bid to halt time, perhaps refute the passage of hands around an invisible orb, Walter expresses worry at the long-haul journey that his father has endeavoured & recruited to have happened. In the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, it is no surprise to see that the roadblocks surmount the transition in place for a passage from this world to the next yet, the patriarch is set & his noon hour has rung.
I had little idea what I was going to find in this short story. Grief is a very personal experience & I am therefore always cautious when endeavouring to read a story wherein the author has presented their honest sentiments regarding the experience of loss. I should never want a review to be taken as insulting, insensitive, crass, or derogatory primarily when dealing with the emotions & experiences of another person. Who am I to say that what transpired in this book is too much or not enough? The answer is that no one is quite as well placed as the author themselves.
What I will say is that this was a very moving story. Kirn has invited the reader to glimpse the transition that will set his life to exploring new horizons; when once he was a son to parents, he now is a child of singularity from a parentage ancestral to the living world. In this short story, Kirn welcomes the transition as a disjointed cube pulsating through a mangled conceived oval; losing a parent is not easy. Ultimately, what is presented does not necessitate the reader to take a stand on whether or not the type of relationship Kirn had with his father mattered or not. Whether or not we have glorious, loving, warm relationships with our parents do not dictate that their deaths will be a seamless transition for us. All change requires something of the last man standing.
The inclusion of metaphors, once experienced in a childhood dream, wanders into the final moments between Walter & his father in something of a fishing line through the fog; hoisting the make-believe world of the misunderstood youthful subconscious into the dreadful world of matured blinded certainty of the adult. The length of this book highlighted how impactful the appearance of the bear was at the beginning of their stay at the cottage as well as adding a tension of desire in the hopes that Walter might recall his past hallucinations of a morphing style from his childhood. The bear is back, you know who he is—ask of him what he wants.
Yet, that is seldom how the world works. Viewing the bear through the video footage reinforces the extraterrestrial experience of the final farewell. Once again highlighting that the relationship mattered not as much as the transition itself. In particular, the final notes of an otherwise blurred series of developed photographs led me to experience a moment’s reprieve for, surely, Walter must have felt that his father was where he had longed to be—returned to the place whence we all came, the earth.
In all, I am appreciative to read so few glimpses into the life of another wherein the communal sentiment, hidden & repressed, washes over the pages in my hands.
Thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories, & Walter Kirn for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Walter’s father has requested a move from Arizona to Montana, he is on his last leg, though once he’s arrived at the cottage-style home nestled in the wilderness he will have lost the use of those too. In a bid to halt time, perhaps refute the passage of hands around an invisible orb, Walter expresses worry at the long-haul journey that his father has endeavoured & recruited to have happened. In the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, it is no surprise to see that the roadblocks surmount the transition in place for a passage from this world to the next yet, the patriarch is set & his noon hour has rung.
I had little idea what I was going to find in this short story. Grief is a very personal experience & I am therefore always cautious when endeavouring to read a story wherein the author has presented their honest sentiments regarding the experience of loss. I should never want a review to be taken as insulting, insensitive, crass, or derogatory primarily when dealing with the emotions & experiences of another person. Who am I to say that what transpired in this book is too much or not enough? The answer is that no one is quite as well placed as the author themselves.
What I will say is that this was a very moving story. Kirn has invited the reader to glimpse the transition that will set his life to exploring new horizons; when once he was a son to parents, he now is a child of singularity from a parentage ancestral to the living world. In this short story, Kirn welcomes the transition as a disjointed cube pulsating through a mangled conceived oval; losing a parent is not easy. Ultimately, what is presented does not necessitate the reader to take a stand on whether or not the type of relationship Kirn had with his father mattered or not. Whether or not we have glorious, loving, warm relationships with our parents do not dictate that their deaths will be a seamless transition for us. All change requires something of the last man standing.
The inclusion of metaphors, once experienced in a childhood dream, wanders into the final moments between Walter & his father in something of a fishing line through the fog; hoisting the make-believe world of the misunderstood youthful subconscious into the dreadful world of matured blinded certainty of the adult. The length of this book highlighted how impactful the appearance of the bear was at the beginning of their stay at the cottage as well as adding a tension of desire in the hopes that Walter might recall his past hallucinations of a morphing style from his childhood. The bear is back, you know who he is—ask of him what he wants.
Yet, that is seldom how the world works. Viewing the bear through the video footage reinforces the extraterrestrial experience of the final farewell. Once again highlighting that the relationship mattered not as much as the transition itself. In particular, the final notes of an otherwise blurred series of developed photographs led me to experience a moment’s reprieve for, surely, Walter must have felt that his father was where he had longed to be—returned to the place whence we all came, the earth.
In all, I am appreciative to read so few glimpses into the life of another wherein the communal sentiment, hidden & repressed, washes over the pages in my hands.
Thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories, & Walter Kirn for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 11, 2022
A short story, 29 pages, but one that isn’t easily forgotten. This is the story of Walter Kim and his father’s wish to spend his last days in their cabin in Montana.
Rick and Dan were friends with Walter and so the two of them, along with another man ’enlisted for his size and muscle and strength’ rented a Winnebago to drive to Arizona, and transport his father to their cabin in Montana, driving slightly less than 1,400 miles there, and then back again, with Walter meeting them back at the cabin once the drive was finished.
Soon after they were settled in at the cabin, a young ’cinnamon-colored bear…still skinny from its winter fast’ was observed through the window, his father busy with the remote for the tv. He tells his father that there’s a bear in the meadow near the cabin, which gets his attention for just a moment, but only a moment. A noted change in his father, who had wanted this cabin for the proximity to the wildlife.
There is a sense of providence in this, a beautiful story sharing the last day of this man’s life, last moments for a father and son to share the words they’d held back, the words they’d never shared.
A moment of bonding, last words, last hugs, and a lasting memory.
Pub Date: 17 Feb 2022
Many thanks for the ARC provided by Amazon Original Stories
February 25, 2022
A short, touching novella that is more about the author spending the last few weeks with his dying father and honoring his last wishes to die (of ALS) in his cabin in Montana than about a bear. However a bear does make a brief appearance. This was a quick read and was a true story.
May 11, 2022
reading about ALS slowly taking away his father’s ability to do virtually any activity was depressing
February 20, 2022
There was nowhere near enough about the bear.
May 28, 2022
This is a short nonfiction story the author wrote about the time spent taking care of his terminally Ill father in his last few weeks. It paints a picture of frustration, heartbreak and and eventually love and understanding. I found it a quick read and touching.
February 6, 2022
There’s a Bear in the House! is a short (true) story by American author, Walter Kirn and is published under the Amazon Original Stories banner. When Kirn’s elderly father expresses a final wish to spend his last days in his remote Montana cabin, watching wildlife from his porch, three of his father’s friends hire a luxury Winnebago to pluck him from his Tucson Care Facility and deposit him at the cabin.
Kirn spends three weeks tending his father as he rapidly deteriorates with ALS. On the first day, Kirn spots a young, cinnamon-coloured bear out the window, but his father is more interested in his DVD remote, trying to watch his favourite show, “Murder, She Wrote”. After his father dies, with no way of locking the cabin, a friend sets up motion-sensor cameras that alert Kirn to the presence of that same young bear, inside the house. This turns out to not be the disaster it could have been.
Eventually, Kirn scatters his father’s ashes as instructed, later discovering amongst his father’s undeveloped photos something that confirms he chose exactly the right spot. The story includes photos of the bear and a certain relevant tree. The blurb is quite misleading, referring to “a unique and consoling bond” with the bear that is never described in the story. Quirky.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories.
Kirn spends three weeks tending his father as he rapidly deteriorates with ALS. On the first day, Kirn spots a young, cinnamon-coloured bear out the window, but his father is more interested in his DVD remote, trying to watch his favourite show, “Murder, She Wrote”. After his father dies, with no way of locking the cabin, a friend sets up motion-sensor cameras that alert Kirn to the presence of that same young bear, inside the house. This turns out to not be the disaster it could have been.
Eventually, Kirn scatters his father’s ashes as instructed, later discovering amongst his father’s undeveloped photos something that confirms he chose exactly the right spot. The story includes photos of the bear and a certain relevant tree. The blurb is quite misleading, referring to “a unique and consoling bond” with the bear that is never described in the story. Quirky.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories.
March 7, 2022
While I sympathize with the author on the loss of his father, this story, which is supposed to be heartwarming, is hard to follow. It starts with a conversation about moving his father, which is confusing and not very well explained, then the father is moved and just sits around watching TV. It’s nice that they got to spend his last moments together but this didn’t have any moving passages or touching scenes that you would expect of a work like this. And the bear is only in it at the end and mentioned in passing.
I received a copy from #NetGalley for an honest review
I received a copy from #NetGalley for an honest review
February 19, 2022
I'm closer to my death than to my birth. I hope when the time comes, I do a better job of it than the author's father did. Very well written, but so sad. Didn't help that my cousin posted earlier today that it was her forty-fifth wedding anniversary. Her husband died a few years ago from ALS.
February 4, 2022
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was a humorous and enjoyable short story. The pictures added a lot to it and it felt like I was sitting down with the author for storytime.
This was a humorous and enjoyable short story. The pictures added a lot to it and it felt like I was sitting down with the author for storytime.
March 22, 2022
I really enjoyed this true story. I don’t usually pick up short stories but this was so relatable for me. Walter takes his father to a cabin for his very last days. The plan is to have hospice care which ends up being Walter’s job. It’s long days of his father in bed holding dearly to the remote control and binge watching Murder, She Wrote. This part reminded me of my own time with my mother in her last days. She wouldn’t let that remote go! I guess it’s a last way of having some control. Walter, you did a beautiful thing giving your dad these moments. I thank you for sharing your story with us.
This story is another one available on kindle unlimited and it narration is done by the author himself. Give it a listen, you really will be glad you did.
This story is another one available on kindle unlimited and it narration is done by the author himself. Give it a listen, you really will be glad you did.
March 2, 2022
A short story about a young man coming to terms with his fathers death...well written!
March 31, 2022
this book hit a little too close to home for me considering my dad just died
February 28, 2022
This really didn't have much to do with a bear. At all.
March 5, 2022
This is a short story and just when I believed writing the short story was a lost art form, this one pops up on my radar! It is excellent, well written, and a pleasure to read. I was winding down one night and, not quite ready for bed, I started reading and became emersed in the author’s reflections.
It’s only 29 (print) pages long, but is a thoughtful piece for the writer, thought-provoking for the reader. It’s a story of a dysfunctional father-son relationship, and the father is now dying and in hospice care. Things do not proceed smoothly. The trip from Tucson to a cabin in Montana was hard on the father. Hospice care during this Covid pandemic is practically nonexistent. The father, who wanted to die closer to nature, curiously turns inward and watches endless episodes of “Murder She Wrote.” And yes, there’s a bear near the house; soon enough, the bear is in the house.
There is a lot of subtext in this short story and the reader must lean in and pay attention, must partner with the author to get out of the story all that is in it. It’s worth spending time on it. The author is not going to spoon-feed us great answers to life, found in death. But if we settle down and think on what the story has to say about these end-of-life moments, I think we all find something to think on. We may even discover what that bear was all about. Just maybe. Believe me, it’s so worth a try.
I rated this story 5 stars. The writing style is crisp, clean and cool as a mountain stream. The cabin, the bear, the pictures developed from old disposable cameras all come together nicely and there’s as much a sense of continuity as there is finality. I find this story flowing into my mind unexpectedly, but I do not mind in the least. I hope those of you who read this story find your own story within the words. Good luck…and happy reading.
It’s only 29 (print) pages long, but is a thoughtful piece for the writer, thought-provoking for the reader. It’s a story of a dysfunctional father-son relationship, and the father is now dying and in hospice care. Things do not proceed smoothly. The trip from Tucson to a cabin in Montana was hard on the father. Hospice care during this Covid pandemic is practically nonexistent. The father, who wanted to die closer to nature, curiously turns inward and watches endless episodes of “Murder She Wrote.” And yes, there’s a bear near the house; soon enough, the bear is in the house.
There is a lot of subtext in this short story and the reader must lean in and pay attention, must partner with the author to get out of the story all that is in it. It’s worth spending time on it. The author is not going to spoon-feed us great answers to life, found in death. But if we settle down and think on what the story has to say about these end-of-life moments, I think we all find something to think on. We may even discover what that bear was all about. Just maybe. Believe me, it’s so worth a try.
I rated this story 5 stars. The writing style is crisp, clean and cool as a mountain stream. The cabin, the bear, the pictures developed from old disposable cameras all come together nicely and there’s as much a sense of continuity as there is finality. I find this story flowing into my mind unexpectedly, but I do not mind in the least. I hope those of you who read this story find your own story within the words. Good luck…and happy reading.
November 11, 2022
a short story the authors last weeks with his sick father and a little bit after wards.
i liked the honesty of this book a lot.
it doesn’t sugar coat how hard it can be to have someone in need of care be your responsibility and how even after their death specific moments can make you still question the choices that were made.
i liked that the author didn’t try to make this story either overly upbeat in the tone of “we can all learn from death and taking care of others especially during hard times” or the opposite “it’s all horrible and so sad and tragic and the reader should only feel horrendously bad.”
instead this story stayed it’s middle ground if just sharing a story that was about loos and grief and human situations and how that sometimes looks.
i liked how covid was mentioned into the story but not as a main thing, but rather that it slowed down or complicated simple tasks in ways that nobody expected before this pandemic, but it never went into anything else.
i think this was done well and if you like and well told little story that is about loss of a parent but more l, go for it.
i liked the honesty of this book a lot.
it doesn’t sugar coat how hard it can be to have someone in need of care be your responsibility and how even after their death specific moments can make you still question the choices that were made.
i liked that the author didn’t try to make this story either overly upbeat in the tone of “we can all learn from death and taking care of others especially during hard times” or the opposite “it’s all horrible and so sad and tragic and the reader should only feel horrendously bad.”
instead this story stayed it’s middle ground if just sharing a story that was about loos and grief and human situations and how that sometimes looks.
i liked how covid was mentioned into the story but not as a main thing, but rather that it slowed down or complicated simple tasks in ways that nobody expected before this pandemic, but it never went into anything else.
i think this was done well and if you like and well told little story that is about loss of a parent but more l, go for it.
March 20, 2022
Deep and Thought-provoking
Again, another short story that sounded interesting, though, it still left me without expectations. Reading it, I ran a gamut of emotions - most of which was melancholy with ponderance.
What I liked was the introspection of the protagonist. I liked his vulnerability and honesty... the way he noted things in nature and everyday life - features of the bear, things about his relationship with his father, his father's decline, and the people he knew as he reconnected with his real life after his loss.
What I disliked was the disconnect I felt between the bear imagery and the overall story. I guess that was my real assumption - there'd be a more significant link. I was disappointed that there wasn't something more profound relating to the bear or that, sadly, I might have missed the correlation.
This was a quick read. It was deep and another layer of life during Covid-19. If you like stories that make you think, this is for you. It definitely left a weight on my heart and my mind considering life...
Again, another short story that sounded interesting, though, it still left me without expectations. Reading it, I ran a gamut of emotions - most of which was melancholy with ponderance.
What I liked was the introspection of the protagonist. I liked his vulnerability and honesty... the way he noted things in nature and everyday life - features of the bear, things about his relationship with his father, his father's decline, and the people he knew as he reconnected with his real life after his loss.
What I disliked was the disconnect I felt between the bear imagery and the overall story. I guess that was my real assumption - there'd be a more significant link. I was disappointed that there wasn't something more profound relating to the bear or that, sadly, I might have missed the correlation.
This was a quick read. It was deep and another layer of life during Covid-19. If you like stories that make you think, this is for you. It definitely left a weight on my heart and my mind considering life...
January 4, 2026
BOOK REPORT
⭐ 2 ⭐
I have only myself to blame: Because I frequently read (and sometimes write) too fast, I went into this story thinking it was fiction.
And, honestly? It really would’ve been better if it had been, IMHO. Then maybe Walter Kirn could’ve left out the parts about the early pandemic days. Just not a fan of reading about that part of history yet, I guess because we all lost our fucking minds (individually and collectively) in one way or another during some of that particular stretch of time.
Also, something about this piece just rang false with me. I’m not accusing Mr Kirn of fabricating anything; instead, I guess, I felt like I was picking up on some strong notes of faux intimacy with the reader.
Well, at least I know now his writing style is not for me.
PS
I have to wonder if part of the reason I wasn’t a fan of this story is because my husband I had just watched good documentary right before my reading of it, The Hermit of Treig: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18296448/.
⭐ 2 ⭐
I have only myself to blame: Because I frequently read (and sometimes write) too fast, I went into this story thinking it was fiction.
And, honestly? It really would’ve been better if it had been, IMHO. Then maybe Walter Kirn could’ve left out the parts about the early pandemic days. Just not a fan of reading about that part of history yet, I guess because we all lost our fucking minds (individually and collectively) in one way or another during some of that particular stretch of time.
Also, something about this piece just rang false with me. I’m not accusing Mr Kirn of fabricating anything; instead, I guess, I felt like I was picking up on some strong notes of faux intimacy with the reader.
Well, at least I know now his writing style is not for me.
PS
I have to wonder if part of the reason I wasn’t a fan of this story is because my husband I had just watched good documentary right before my reading of it, The Hermit of Treig: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18296448/.
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June 16, 2022An inexcusable bait and switch featuring only two brief, inconsequential appearances by that good boy on the cover. Mostly this is one of those stories American creative writing types churn out like Detroit used to churn out automobiles, in which there's an ageing father and a difficult relationship with his son and one key memory takes place at a game of rounders and come on, you know the drill. Oh, and it has a faintly topical gloss because of COVID but in a way, weren't we all isolated from each other already, aaaaah? There is one sentence I enjoyed, when a well-meaning but unimpressive local priest visits: "It was one of those lilting, respectful, kindly prayers that seem unlikely to reach to heaven, that never quite gain the momentum to leave the earth." But the idea of reading a whole story for that little moment is surely the attention economy equivalent of a gas-guzzler. To paraphrase a far wiser writer, the great Ryan North: feelings are boring, bears are awesome.
January 31, 2025
This nonfiction reflection on terminal illness, death, and grief lacks a hard narrative structure and is not much about wildlife. Some of it is relatable and more sparks sympathy. It’s interesting how surprising lack of expected devastation became a metaphor for the author’s loss. However, at less than thirty pages everything feels a little too sparse and disconnected.
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Summary: Walter Kirn’s father wants to die in their family cabin in Montana. Friends use a Winnebago to speed him through the 1400 mile journey from the Tucson Care Facility despite Covid-19. Walter watches endless episodes of Murder She Wrote and issues medications using Hospice protocols to deal with the quickly progressing ALS in the former lawyer and huntsman. Then Walter must deal with old photos, ash distribution, and even a bear break in.
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Summary: Walter Kirn’s father wants to die in their family cabin in Montana. Friends use a Winnebago to speed him through the 1400 mile journey from the Tucson Care Facility despite Covid-19. Walter watches endless episodes of Murder She Wrote and issues medications using Hospice protocols to deal with the quickly progressing ALS in the former lawyer and huntsman. Then Walter must deal with old photos, ash distribution, and even a bear break in.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2025
OK it was a cheat. I wanted to read, but didn't know what book I wanted to read next, so I quickly read this extremely short novella, more like an essay. I liked the writing, but it seemed too rushed, like something the writer should have banged out and put in a drawer for remembering the moment every once in awhile. Definitely didn't need to be published. Great line in the book though that caught my breath:
"What I advise, and I advise it strongly, is that you put passion over pragmatism. Look inside, determine what really moves you. You're not here to please, to make money, or perform. You're here to grow, so nourish yourself accordingly. Water your garden. Always face the sun."
"What I advise, and I advise it strongly, is that you put passion over pragmatism. Look inside, determine what really moves you. You're not here to please, to make money, or perform. You're here to grow, so nourish yourself accordingly. Water your garden. Always face the sun."
April 25, 2022
The short essay is a moving and a thoughtfully written reflection of a man's relationship with his father as his father's health slowly declines from ALS. They spend his last weeks in the father's cabin because his father wanted to spend time in nature before he passed. During that time, a friendly bear makes an appearance and enters the house once the father dies. The story has lots of ebbs and flows in the relationship, but the stories shared in the essay show that there is love between the two men even if it is complicated. The essay was a bit short and I would have liked this to have been a full-blown novel that explored more of the relationship, but what was written was very good.
August 10, 2023
I really appreciate Kirn's creative non-fiction. Every time I read it, I want to stop whatever else I'm doing and write something of my own. He has a gift for seeing the world well, neither missing the important bits nor failing to connect two wonders together with a perfect turn of phrase.
There are several areas in this short piece that are so well described that I assumed I was watching them play out before me on screen. Then there were a few that had the rare ability to plug your emotional center into sync with the characters, making the scene play out as if you were there.
And then there's the bear...
There are several areas in this short piece that are so well described that I assumed I was watching them play out before me on screen. Then there were a few that had the rare ability to plug your emotional center into sync with the characters, making the scene play out as if you were there.
And then there's the bear...
February 28, 2022
I loved this story, because I just lived it. I was in the same place as the writer, only my journey went on for six years with my husband. Walter Kirn was able to put words to my feelings. It was as if he had watched what I went through. He described the emotions and put into words the roller coaster ride of caring for and losing a love one. I highly recommend this for everyone that, has been there done that. It is words that help heal and ease the grief. Thank you Walter Kirn for sharing your journey.
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March 14, 2022Touching & Funny story
This was a touching story. It unfortunately reminded of the last few days of my dad's life so it touched my heart in that way. It also touched me as he remembered his dad and then was trying to find a good place to lay him to rest. I laughed far too hard when the bear was discovered. I think the tree and this book are both great ways for him to honor his father.
This was a touching story. It unfortunately reminded of the last few days of my dad's life so it touched my heart in that way. It also touched me as he remembered his dad and then was trying to find a good place to lay him to rest. I laughed far too hard when the bear was discovered. I think the tree and this book are both great ways for him to honor his father.
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