Gone to the Woods, Gary Paulsen
Gone to the Woods, Gary Paulsen
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Gone to the Woods
Surviving a Lost Childhood

Author: Gary Paulsen

Narrator: Dan Bittner

Unabridged: 6 hr 45 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/12/2021


Synopsis

"Dan Bittner flawlessly narrates this matchless memoir, which captures writer Gary Paulsen's bittersweet life...The sublime narration and satisfying conclusion contribute to a rewarding listening experience." -- AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner

A middle grade memoir from a living literary legend, giving listeners a new perspective on the origins of Gary Paulsen's famed survival stories.

His name is synonymous with high-stakes wilderness survival stories. Now, beloved author Gary Paulsen portrays a series of life-altering moments from his turbulent childhood as his own original survival story. If not for his summer escape from a shockingly neglectful Chicago upbringing to a North Woods homestead at age five, there never would have been a Hatchet. Without the encouragement of the librarian who handed him his first book at age thirteen, he may never have become a reader. And without his desperate teenage enlistment in the Army, he would not have discovered his true calling as a storyteller.

A moving and enthralling story of grit and growing up, Gone to the Woods is perfect for newcomers to the voice and lifelong fans alike, from the acclaimed author at his rawest and realest.

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux


About Gary Paulsen

Gary Paulsen (1939–2021) wrote more than two hundred books for children and adults, including the father-son comedy How to Train Your Dad, and the survival adventure Northwind. Three of his novels—Hatchet, Dogsong, and The Winter Room—were Newbery Honor books. In 1997, he received the ALA’s Margaret A. Edwards Award for his contribution to young adult literature. His books have sold over 35 million copies around the world.

About Dan Bittner

Dan Bittner has narrated dozens of audio books and has starred on stage and on the screen, in movies such as Men in Black, Adventureland, and the Producers: The Movie Musical. He has also appeared onstage as Macbeth Malcolm and Sherlock Holmes in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He has narrated popular audio books such as The Eleventh Plague, Hero, and Forever.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jennifer on February 10, 2021

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 do......more

Goodreads review by Veronica ⭐️ on February 10, 2021

Gary Paulsen writes with stark reality, there is no softening around the edges. He writes about life exactly as he lived it and some scenes are quite gruesome. The story contains vivid descriptions of a train load of injured soldiers and also a frenzied shark attack on the passengers of a plane cras......more

Goodreads review by Melissa (Semi-hiatus for Work) on January 05, 2021

This is a gripping and fascinating memoir of Gary Paulsen's life, adapted from his previously written account (Eastern Sun, Winter Moon: An Autobiographical Odyssey ) particularly for an older middle grade/YA audience. There are some disturbing situations that aren't really appropriate for younger m......more

Goodreads review by Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) on February 03, 2021

While I expected this book to be interesting, I didn't expect to love it as much as I did. Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood is a memoir written in third person as almost an adventure story for a middle grade audience. It recounts key events in the childhood and adolescence of Gary Pauls......more

Goodreads review by Lisa on November 01, 2020

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


Awards

  • Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year
  • Parents Magazine, Best Children's Books of the Year
  • Shelf Awareness Best Books of the Year
  • Minneapolis Star Tribune Holiday Book Recommendations
  • Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year
  • NYTBR Notable Children's BOTY