Thanks to #netgalley #garypaulsen for the advance copy of Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood

3.5 stars
During my first semester of library school, the first young adult book I read was Hatchet. This began a lasting fascination with action adventure and survival fiction. And Hatchet remains a steadfast, go to recommendation I give to any reluctant reader. Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood is a middle grade memoir that provides the reader with seminal moments that marked Paulsen’s uneasy childhood. From the beginning his early life was marked by neglect and caustic parenting. At the age of five, his grandmother convinced his mother to send Gary to live with her sister far north in the woods. His mother happily accepted the notion and with only a small suitcase and five dollars in his pocket, puts Gary aboard a train. “She dropped him off at the train station to make the four-hundred-mile run to Minneapolis to connect to a different, slower north-woods train that would take him north another four hundred or so miles to International Falls, Minnesota, on the Canadian border, where he would be met by a total stranger to take him the final rough distance to the first farm his grandmother had selected. A five-year-old child. Completely and totally alone.”

At the age of 5, Paulsen was already accustomed to and mostly proficient at fending for himself. The farm, as it turns out has more lessons to be learned about self sufficiency, but administered with a kinder and more gentle hand. It is with his aunt and uncle that Gary develops his first sense of safety, security, and belonging. And he discovers the serenity, solace, and enchantment of the natural world, a connection that would direct him and provide respite throughout his life. Sadly, his time on the farm was a brief ellipsis in his life. But it did provide him with a reference for everything that came before and after. Paulsen goes on to recount a horrific stint in Manila, just at the tail end of World War II, reunited with his absentee military father. His parents are abusive, neglectful, alcoholics and, together, an explosive combination. This, coupled with the every day atrocities and horrors of a war torn country, heightens his survival skills but also creates in him a great distrust of most adults. Out of sheer necessity, he is able to compartmentalize much of the trauma he experiences and continues with heartbreaking pluck and fortitude. “And after that, a part of him, a part of his spirit, was calloused and toughened. Like leather. And he would not and could not be young again. Ever.” At some point the family returns to the states and settles in a small town. His parents become an ugly footnote from the this point on. Paulsen lives in a decrepit corner of the basement in their apartment building, or in the woods at the edge of town when the weather is cooperative, keeping out sight, keeping to himself, providing for himself working odd jobs. He’s in and out school, a place that he has little use for. “...not, he thought, that school mattered for him. It worked for others. Didn’t work for him. Teachers said things he was supposed to hear and handed him work to study, but he didn’t hear or couldn’t study, because he had to think about other things... He never thought about school except to know it was a nightmare walking.”

Paulsen runs away several times finding work on farms and ranches, once in a carnival, but is always found out and returned home despite the fact that his parents often don’t even realize he’s been gone nor want him around. He finds literal refuge in the library. “Place smelled like wood and what? Smelled like … books. Official-looking wood-book-smelling quiet place that made you relax the minute you came in the door. That’s what made it feel safe. An official government place where nobody would mess with you. A safe place where none of the loud-hard kids would come...It happened that way. Somehow, without thinking, the library became part of what he was, what he did. A safe place. Like the woods.” But it was more than the safety of the building that beckoned him. “It was the library and the librarian.”

At the age of thirteen, Paulsen is befriended by the librarian who wins him over wary encounters and slow and cautious conversations in which he feels heard and seen for the first time. “The library was how and where and when he came to learn things.” This relationship proves to be momentous turning point in Paulsen’s development. The librarian not only unlocks the magic and utility of reading for him, but also encourages him to write. “He wrote for the librarian with the warm smile. Even after she was gone and he was living in new places, living new ways, even then he carried the notebook with a blue cover and a yellow pencil and wrote all he saw and did and could remember. Always for the librarian with the warm smile. Who first showed him how to read the whole book.” As a librarian, this is the Mecca. What we know and believe to be our holy grail.
The remainder of his teen years are spent in various aimless pursuits, including a program at a vocational school.

“When he was about to flunk out of the eleventh grade, the state stepped in and he was passed to twelfth grade with the “proviso” (their word, not his) that he was to pay attention and really try to learn a vocation as a television repair man and not be a ‘burden to society.’” Again, this proves to a pivotal moment and one that would shape his prospects for many years. “Pure magic. And he loved it. Ate it with a spoon, ravenous to know more and more, to figure out how it all worked and to really know everything there was to learn about this new thing. And although he did not even sense it at the time, he would find later that the knowledge, the technical base of the knowledge, would affect him profoundly and for the rest of his life.” Paulsen enlists in the army after graduation. His experience, marksmanship, and technical intelligence all provided a career pathway he might otherwise never imagined while also showing him he wanted a big life with many adventures not a jaded one filled with regrets or longing.

The book ends a bit abruptly. Readers who see it through will marvel at his resilience and perseverance. It’s simply amazing that almost from his inception, he was a survivalist, intent on winning with the impossible hand he was dealt. He’s plucky, gritty, and determined. I think it could be a good book for guided discussion and possibly, a good read aloud. I’m not sure it will find a lot of young readership on its own. The writing is staccato, punctuated by short, almost stream of conscious sentences. But taken as a whole, you’ll marvel at his tenacity.

I was very disappointed by this book. While I understand the book was written with to include experiences of the author's life it is totally inappropriate for students in his usual target audience. The swearing and references to his mothers "occupation" make this book for Young Adults and above not for the age group that typically would read his books. I love Gary Paulsen's writing style but I won't be getting this book for my school library.

Though Paulsen has alluded to having a very difficult childhood with alcoholic parents and told bits and pieces of his past in other books, in Gone to the Woods he tells much more. Though this book is considered middle-grade, I would probably put it closer to YA due to the mature content. Paulsen doesn't hold and tells of his mother's promiscuity, his parents' alcoholism, the neglect, witnessing the horrors of war and gruesome deaths and wounds, though he doesn't go into detail, he also refers to prostitutes, sexually transmitted disease, and more very difficult subject matter which could be beyond the maturity or sensitivity of many middle grade readers. However, it could also serve to give hope and inspiration to other children dealing with similar hardships, as Paulsen's story continues through his years in the army, and the moment when he realized he wanted and deserved something more from life.

As a librarian I was particularly touched by his description of how discovering the public library and being gently encouraged and guided by a sensitive and caring librarian made a huge difference in his life and led to his eventually becoming an author.

This book is written in Paulsen's typical straightforward style, no flowery prose, deep insights, or hidden messages. Just a man telling his story-the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I have love Gary Paulsen's books for over 30 years and Gone to the Woods is an instant classic. This book will haunt your heart and linger in your mind. It is as marvelous as it is heartbreaking.

If you read this book, you will understand why Gary Paulsen is such an excellent author. It truly amazes me that a person can survive such a childhood. I have no doubt this will appeal to any reader looking for an enthralling read.

I have enjoyed Gary Paulsen’s books for a long time. I had heard that his childhood was rough, but this autobiography really shows the reader. The story reveals his strong sense of survival, the librarian who showed him the wonderful world of books and reading, and his army years. The language is poetic and at the same time inserts some foul language that I would hesitate to have 3rd and 4th graders reading. Maybe this bookis better suited to middle school readers.

What an incredible memoir. What an incredible life. Difficult, raw, honest, heartbreaking, uplifting, funny. I really loved this memoir and was spellbound by his resilience. (I need to look to see if Gary Paulsen has discussed why he used third person to tell his story.)

Gary Paulsen can tell a story. Gone to the Woods is a memoir about Paulsen's experiences growing up. Many of his experiences are heart wrenching. There are a number of instances throughout the book that my heart broke.
This is a great read to learn more about this author's life and overcoming obstacles.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In this enthralling memoir of his childhood and young adult life, Gary Paulsen describes the hardships he endured as a neglected child of alcoholic parents. Although he spent much of his childhood in harsh situations, there were kind, compassionate people in his life who gave him the resources for survival. His aunt and uncle provided him with a nurturing, loving environment and the knowledge and resources for survival on his own. A kind librarian saw his potential as a writer and gifted him the pencil and notebook that started a long, successful career. This engaging memoir reads like an action novel with U.S. history woven into the narrative.

Gary Paulsen is synonymous with middle grade adventure survival stories such as Hatchet and Woods Runner, but in his memoir Paulsen writes a collection of short stories about his childhood through adulthood. If not for the woods, a librarian and the military, Paulsen would not be the author we know today. This is great for those who want an insight into the mind of this amazing and prolific writer and to remind librarians why we do what we do. Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of this book. Grab your copy January 12.

Compelling look into a dysfunctional family, the saving grace of kindness and the power of determination. Paulsen’s gift for effortlessly drawing the reader into the story is on full display here. You are in each moment with him, experiencing with all the senses the challenges he faced from early childhood. Masterpiece.

Gone to the Woods is a memoir of the author's rough childhood and adolescent years. As a parent, it is an incredibly difficult read. Beautiful writing, but very, very heartwrenching content. As a librarian, this book made me remember why I do the work I do. Right now (September 2020), library work is often difficult and exhausting; everything is upside down as it is for everyone else in the world. But hearing Mr. Paulsen describe his introduction to the library as a haven and books as food was another reminder that the work we do matters, and every child we encounter matters, whether we realize it or not. I wonder if the librarian in his book ever knew the impact she had on his life.

This is my #1 favorite for 2020.