Customer Reviews

Desert Sojourn: A Woman's Forty Days and Nights Alone (Adventura Books)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A reader would make a serious mistake to conclude that Debi Holmes-Binney's engaging account of her desert sojourn is reading solely reserved for women. It is a book for both genders. This book will touch the soul of anyone who has lived long enough to have realized that life is far more complicated than we were promised, that material rewards become hollow in time, that relationships are fragile, and that permanence in anything is elusive. If approached with an open mind, Desert Sojourn is an immensely fulfilling work that invokes the best of journal-writing traditions. Carefully and beautifully written, Holmes-Binney's text takes the reader into the desert and deep into her thoughts. When she is cold, we are cold; when she is scared, we are too; and, when she is triumphant, we are swept aloft. I found myself deeply moved by this slim volume. Read it for no other reason than it will force you to slow down. It will take you to a place of solitude. It will cause you to think carefully about your life. In the end, what more can one ask from a book?

This book has left me with more questions of which I find few answers. First of all, I will and always will admire anyone brave and courageous enough to follow their hearts and write about it. The courage to write and confront what you have actually done is often times more difficult than the act itself. I believe with all my heart that Ms. Holmes-Binney deserves commendation for putting into words the fears and anxieties of her soul.

My concerns with her actions are relatively basic. First of all, she seems to come from a family experienced with the outdoors. While they pride themselves with "not cheating" when camping, I can not understand how in the world she planned this 40 day episode into the cold desert with such ill preparation. Did she deliberately choose NOT to take adequate clothing, specifically, jacket and footwear? ( I have been on a fair amount of camping trips, and I know those two items would be highly important on my list of items to have.) Instead of taking appropriate weather gear, she decides a "leather jacket" and some thrifty store salvation army type cowboy boots should see her through the endeavor. I couldn't believe how naive she seemed, or was it self-destructive? You decide.

Of course, with in the first few days, the inadequacy of all her chosen items seem to rear their ugly heads and it is literally her life that is at risk. An untimely snowstorm moves in on her very first few days. She is barely set up in her camp, her flimsy tent is flying apart and everything is soaking wet from the rainstorm that preceeded the freezing weather. Her sleeping bags are soaking wet, and she has fallen apart mentally and physically. Her only salvation is that she hopes the ranger and his wife will not leave her out there to die.

It astounds me that she risked all this and spent so little time PLANNING for this adventure. She never explains her motives for ill planning, either. It seems to be just an oversight, but any educated person familiar with the wilderness knows you must plan and prepare for any time in the wild. I just can not understand why she did this as she is not an ignorant person.

She plans to find her spiritual self in 40 days and nights in the desert. She elects to conduct this spiritual journey solo, but thankfully a few people come to her aid and literally save her life by giving her a stove, wood, and not to mention, the actual down jacket off the ranger's wife's back. I am just not so sure what she really found out there, as I have to wonder what she brought there in the first place.

My wife and I spent a few days with Debi's parents last year. They told us her story, and so we knew this book was coming. We also spent 10 years teaching with them in Taiwan, and we thought we knew them well. However, we were not prepared for the fascinating revelations about her family life as she was growing up. She skillfully interweaves family events and personal accounts into this excellent book. I was a bit dubious at first; after all, who would want or need to do something like this? Right away I put her in the same category as those who climb mountains, swim channels, or hike Antarctica. But as I progressed into the book, I realized that this was a very special woman, one who had an important story to tell, and one who could move me to tears as she told it. I read the book because I knew her parents, but I was swept up by it because of her power as a writer. Bravo, Debi, bravo, George and Lois for raising such a daughter.

I greatly enjoyed this book...as a thirty-something myself who has gone through a divorce, I could relate to a lot of the emotions and the urge to find oneself. Debi's sojourn into the desert, or at least the concept, is one that I often daydream about as a way of searching out my soul and realizing my purpose. I think she has a lot of courage to face herself alone in isolation as I'm not sure I could sleep so many nights in the wilderness alone without dying of fright. The book was well-written, if not a little whiney, at times.

However, at the same time, I found numerous things disturbing. First, the author divorces her husband and leaves her child with him, except for holidays. Then she runs off with some literature guru who lets her live with him jobless and complaining for however long. Second, she goes into the wilderness ill-prepared for 40 days alone - no waterproof hiking boots, no warm jacket, etc. For anyone who has ever camped or skied in extreme conditions, they know that those two items are first and foremost on the survival list. What was she thinking when she brought Reeboks and cowboy boots? Third, she would've surely died had not the ranger and his wife provided her with a parka, wood stove and wood, and staple gun. Fourth, she spent half of her time hiding out in her shelter before realizing that she could occupy her time with creating a camp site area that would make her feel at home. It occurred to me while reading that this is the first thing I would've done - explored my area, created a home, and thus felt safe and comfortable.

Regardless of the frustration, this is a definitely a recommended book.

I opened the book with high expectations...What a terrific title...and what a shame to find such immature writing. I kept waiting for the moment when I could share the author's experience...when I could admire her...or sympathize with her..but honestly...a pet fly! A captivating topic...wasted!

I seem to be in the minority but I found this book particularly annoying. I found Ms. Holmes-Binney's "discoveries" rather shallow. While reading the book, I kept looking for a gem or two and found only fool's gold. I would have to say to Ms. Holmes-Binney "You, my Dear, ain't no Joan Anderson!"

A great story of personal examination, both of the author's past & current lives. The first third of the book grips & holds you firmly as you follow her adventures and struggle to survive. I couldn't put it down! (Stayed up way too late to finish the book!) The stories of her family and childhood were reflective and loving, but the narratives of her day to day existence and survival will fascinate any reader. I intend to give this as a gift to several people I know. I recommend it to just about everyone.

When I picked up this book, I groaned inside ("Oh, no, not another me-a-woman-and-my-outdoors-adventure" book!). But I leafed through the pages and read enough passages that I decided to buy it just for the pleasure of reading Holmes-Binney's vivid writing. She truly brings to life the experience of cocooning in a primitive shelter in the Great Basin desert.

However, it is this cocooning that disturbs me, among other things. It feels like her crowning accomplishment was to seal up the shack against drafts so the wood stove (trucked in by others after her arrival) could do its magic. Yes, magic--when she describes the glow of its heat after being deprived of same, I feel like I am right there. The "music" in the fire--and in pure silence, alone in a remote place--is something I have experienced. Still, to spend 40 days in a remarkably primitive, beautiful place and stay within what, half a mile? of her little hut that entire time baffles me. It's not like every one of those days was a recovery from her initial rough start, or always bad weather.

But people do need differing amounts of time to sort things out, so I can shrug that one off to personal preference.

What I can't shrug off is that she went in so casually as to be a menace to herself as well as to others who might try to "rescue" her. As the details rolled in, I wondered if perhaps this was meant to be a suicide attempt in grand style. Broken cowboy boots and a leather jacket? No sleep pad? A tent not meant for high-wind applications? As soon as she related where she put the tent, all I could think was "Flash flood." And anybody who's camped in a canyon knows it can be one of the coldest, darkest places around. Why on earth would she subject herself to light deprivation in November and December, especially since it sounded like she was already struggling with depression. The fact that she did not eat for the first 3 days also makes me wonder about her alleged camping experience.

Aside from these lingering questions, the book felt like it lost steam near the end. I skimmed through long passages of reminiscences that did not seem to have much bearing on her insights. They felt...self-indulgent. I thought self-indulgence was one of the things she had gotten over earlier.

But for me, the last straw was identical to that of another reader's: the leaving up of her "turf"--hut itself, pooping area, and who knows how much litter however inadvertent. She could have dismantled the hut and buried the poop, at the very least. In fact, one of the 3 people who came to help her earlier had expressed great interest in the hut's canvas. She could have thanked him for his help by giving him the canvas. I'm afraid the writer was still too self-indulgent for this; her desire to leave a monument to herself overshadowed both environmental impacts and simple courtesy.

While I am glad the writer "found herself" and created a lively account of the experience, frankly I hope she's not out doing more sojourns in more places, leaving the remains. It is a shame that one thing she didn't find was maturity.

About 10 pages were missing right before the last page. Really disappointed to get that far in the book and this happens

I just finished devouring Desert Sojourn in two sittings. Perhaps it's because I am presently at a point in my life where I have some of the same issues as Debi, but I found the book compelling reading. Even with the help she did receive, spending forty days and nights alone in the desert in not the best weather is a major accomplishment. Yes, it's true that she wasn't as prepared as she could have been. I think she didn't realize that she could get snow, and I have a certain sympathy for that, because I have been in a similar situation. I have camped alone - not in a wilderness, but as the only person in a very large park campground - and it can be scary as hell at night! I have left a cabin because of the mice, and the fear they would get onto the bed. I think she had tremendous courage to tough it out. NO WAY could I do what she did. For the person who complained about the idea of a pet fly, I think it shows both what we do when we are desperate and afraid, and also the creativity that helped her survive. I think creating CandyLand was an incredible act of creativity. Clearly, depression does run in Debi's family, as it runs in mine, so I could really understand her fear of the "blackness" within. As for the complaint that her writing is immature, I am a writer, and I found her writing to be quite good. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read not just an adventure, but who has similar issues that they are trying to work out.