Wilderness Wife

by Bradford Angier

A former city dweller describes her difficult, sometimes dangerous, yet satisfying life with her husband in the British Columbia wilderness

Genres: Memoir, Adventure

177 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[R. Pinto · Rating 1 out of 5]

Would give it no stars if I could. The entire chapter entitled "Lying Awake At Night" is an almost word for word copy of a chapter from Stewart Edward White's book "The Forest." Interestingly, the original chapter from White's book is titled "On Lying Awake at Night."

[Ericka Jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

The con: It’s a bit redundant and the dialogue is a bit contrived. It’s a bit heavy on the Thoreau quotes. Pro: the description of the countryside can put you right there. I started skimming a lot of it after about 3/4 of the way through because I was getting a bit bored.

[Debbie Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved the idea of this book, the concept, loved the place where the story evolved. I liked reading about their lifestyle and nature. My favorite chapter was chapter one, where they are leaving the city for the unknown. I should have loved this book, I wanted to love this book but unfortunately the author's style of writing didn't work for me, it could not hold my attention. If I had read it at a different time in my life I might have felt differently.

[Lori Eby · Rating 4 out of 5]

The exquisite reverence for nature and its northern beauty stoked my already-smoldering love for the northern woods and lands. My hankering for this land made this book a 4 star read despite the distracting and occasionally nauseating fake dialogue. Why they couldn’t say something without encapsulating it in dialogue is a mystery to me.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A city couple moved to wilds of British Columbia, Canada to build a log cabin and live off the land. (Anyone remember that movie The Wilderness Family, or the TV show Grizzly Adams?) To quote the inside flap: “The best kind of true adventure story, this is how a woods-wise couple get their food from nature’s larder, stay warm in 66 degrees below zero, travel in unmapped forests, and face the dangers of whitewater, grizzlies, wolves and a charging moose. Here, too, is reverie in the seasons, the beauty of the green world…”

I love camping and riding through the woods. I used to go rock climbing and caving when I was younger. It never ceases to amaze me when people can carve a living out of the wilderness. Once upon a time, it was just the way it was. But for someone to voluntarily abandon all the modern conveniences and permanently return to a simpler way of being, that takes guts.

I love that they dwell on the beauty even without minimizing the challenges and danger. Not an easy life, but a rewarding and rich one. I'm not going to run away from Starbucks any time soon, but this book does remind me to appreciate the little things in life, to stop and listen to a birdsong or admire a sunset. Sometimes we get so busy with the day to day we forget to appreciate where we are and what else shares our space.

[Art the Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was interesting - the ongoing adventures and life of wilderness living of Brad and Vena Angier. However, the writing style was pretty painful at times. It read more like a commercial at times, dialogue that normal people wouldn't use. But still, I love the outdoors and admire what they did. And in some ways I'm jealous.

But, as they described eating off the land - picking edible wild weeds and vegetables, eating the innards of animals - like lung and moose muzzle - taking a bath in an icy river that they swear is the best way to do it... all I could think was "Yes, but there's no Hyvee Chinese Buffet, so..." Or netflix.

Anyway, I love the outdoors, and it never ceases to amaze me how much of God's creation can sustain us. Or try and kill us!

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and well-written, though the dialog seemed a bit too contrived and subservient to be real. I got the impression that Vena is quite the little wife, hopping at Brad's every breath -though I doubt that was her intent. I am not familiar with their books and might have drawn more from their interplay than I should have.
The book itself was good, though, despite that. Visual and informative, a personal account of wilderness living.

[Artslyz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm always interested in "back to the land" ideas as well as the presentation of "wife", particularly through the not-so-distance past.

What stuck out to me with this book was her constant use of delicious, golden margarine! That certainly dated this book, and I find it interesting that it's credited here to Bradford when it was clearly written from the perspective of Vena.

[Tami Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely one of the best books I've ever read! If you like living in the wilderness, living off the land, you'll love it.
Vena shares her adventures, her trials and tribulations and more with such a likeable personality.

Read this... You won't be sorry.

[Lynn Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting. Sometimes I thought she sounded a tad over the top, but I found their experiences interesting to read about.

[zelda · Rating 3 out of 5]

those fiddleheads in melted butter, damn.