Sandi K W. (Sandiinmississippi) reviewed on 1/23/2015 + 265 more book reviews

Really loved this book - both for the adventure and survival aspects and for the coming of age story. Ollestad, Jr. is the son of an adventurous and unusually enthusiastic father. Some would call Sr. a thrill-seeker. He'd raised the author on wild trips, high impact sports, constant physical and mental challenge, but all tempered with a certain laid-back attitude to conflict. In reading, one comes to suspect that their personalities were quite different yet each learned to respect the others' limitations and perspective.

The book alternates between snapshots and stories from childhood and the tale of surviving a plane crash which kills pilot, father and father's girlfriend. Usually this style seems disjointed, but it made perfect sense when you consider the point of the book is how the author's childhood gave him the strength of character and the physical ability to hike down a mountain from elevation of about 8500 feet in deep snow and tough terrain. There are lots of details of ski slopes, surfing, and traveling, along with a look at the hippy-dippy lifestyle of the 70s on Topango Beach.

I literally could not put the book down. It finished with a nice wrap-up of how our author is now raising his own son. It felt very satisfying to see the thread of adventure still there, but tempered by experience.

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