Will to Wild

April 17, 2023
In this upbeat debut, journalist Stanger calls on readers to pursue a life of adventure, whether that means scaling Mount Everest or visiting a national park. Drawing on others’ odysseys and her own experience ditching a career in marketing to become an adventure journalist, Stanger explains how to pursue “wild ideas,” or ones that “scare you,” involve nature, and “change your life in a positive way.” Readers should start by determining whether they’re stuck, she writes, be it in a job or relationship. Next, she explains how to seek “trail signs” to get started, as when an amateur runner read about a man who trekked across America, and became “so excited he thought he might throw up.” (He eventually pulled off the same feat, running from San Francisco to New York in “forty-two days, six hours, and thirty minutes.”) Stanger discusses mapping one’s proverbial trail, tackling fear, and reaching the “finish line,” after which adventurers may feel fatigue or even grief. Drawing on anecdotes from thrill seekers who skied to the South Pole and summited Kilimanjaro, Stanger weaves a buoyant mix of inspiration, personal experience, and nuts and bolts tips (she recommends, for instance, taking a wilderness first aid class before embarking on a backcountry adventure). Those looking to break in their hiking boots will want to pick this up.