Synopses & Reviews
Day One, and already she was lying in her journal. It was 1993, Suzanne Roberts had just finished college, and when her friend suggested they hike California’s John Muir Trail, the adventure sounded like the perfect distraction from a difficult home life and thoughts about the future. But she never imagined that the twenty-eight-day hike would change her life. Part memoir, part nature writing, part travelogue,
Almost Somewhere is Roberts’s account of that hike.
John Muir had written of the Sierra Nevada as a “vast range of light,” and this was exactly what Roberts was looking for. But traveling with two girlfriends, one experienced and unflappable and the other inexperienced and bulimic, she quickly discovered that she needed a new frame of reference. Her story of a month in the backcountry—confronting bears, snowy passes, broken equipment, injuries, and strange men—is as much about finding a woman’s way into outdoor experience as it is about the natural world she so eloquently describes. Candid and funny and, finally, wise, Almost Somewhere is not just the whimsical coming-of-age story of a young woman ill-prepared for a month in the mountains but also the reflection of a distinctly feminine view of nature.
Review
“Suzanne Roberts sets off on a remarkable Sierra journey that will test the limits of physical endurance, of friendship, and of faith in self. . . . This is not the usual wilderness story of independence, competition, and violence. Here, thankfully, is the more urgent story of intimacy, community, and compassion. A loving, and lovely, ode to life.”—John T. Price, author of
Not Just Any Land Colleen Mondor - Booklist
Review
“In Almost Somewhere we get to travel both the physical John Muir Trail—its history, its flowers and trees and shadowy peaks—and the gritty emotional landscape of the three women who make the journey. Where are we in the world, anyway? Suzanne Roberts helps us know that the only place we can be is here, giving it all we have, day by day.”—Fleda Brown, author of Driving with Dvořák John T. Price
Review
"[Almost Somewhere] will appeal to readers of travel and nature books, as well as those who enjoy reading about social interactions and group dynamics."—Kirkus ForeWord
Review
"Almost Somewhere is, at all turns, a gratifying read. It is intimate and funny, sharp and pensive, and its readers—if not inspired to undertake their own adventures—will certainly be sad to leave Roberts at the trail's end."—Michelle Schingler, ForeWord Michelle Schingler
Review
"Roberts dares to combine a hiking adventure with a healthy dose of humor and female bonding in all its complicated and turbulent best. . . . An utterly refreshing outdoors memoir free of the seemingly manufactured drama so many similar titles contain. A delightful and quite literary diversion."—Colleen Mondor, Booklist Kirkus
Review
"Almost Somewhere is a contribution to the growing body of women's nature writing, and a worthwhile, entertaining and occasionally funny story of the California wilderness."—Julia Jenkins, Shelf Awareness Colleen Mondor - Booklist
Review
"[Almost Somewhere is] a 260-page journey that is bound to take you beyond the John Muir Trail."—Kathryn Reed, Lake Tahoe News Bradley John Monsma - ISLE
Review
"This is not a backpacking primer, but rather one on young females in search of themselves as they prepare for life after college. We read about insecurities, jealously, lust, self-esteem, tears, bingeing, self-realization, learning to appreciate oneself for oneself, and interpersonal relationships. And come away with the author's realization that mountains in general, and the JMT specifically, provide a spectacular backdrop to work through these issues and absorb the associated lessons."—Kurt Repanshek, National Parks Traveler Kathryn Reed - Lake Tahoe News
Review
"Readers who have walked sections of the John Muir Trail will appreciate Roberts's accurate descriptions of lakes and passes, of trail-worn feet, and of the fleeting moments when you seem to float down the trail."—Bradley John Monsma, ISLE Julia Jenkins - Shelf Awareness
Review
"For climbing and travel enthusiasts, this will be a treasured read."and#8212;Jay Freeman, Booklist starred review
Review
and#8220;It is Siebersonand#8217;s unabashed enthusiasm for climbing that is exposed here, and his bare appraisal of it all is engagingly straightforward.
The Naked Mountaineer guides us up mountainsand#8212;including his beloved Matterhornand#8212;and offers an insightful travelogue. The observations are fresh and yet familiar, as welcome as clean socks from a well-worn rucksack at the end of a long dayand#8217;s hike.and#8221;and#8212;Kyle Wagner, travel and fitness editor for the the
Denver Postand#160;
and#160;
Review
and#8220;From Western Washington to Italy to Indonesia this is a fun and delightful book. For anyone who has traveled or wished to travel to remote places Steve Siebersonand#8217;s The Naked Mountaineer gives an entertaining and humorous account of his mountain adventures and the characters he met along the way.and#8221;and#8212;Mike Mahanay, president of the Washington Alpine Club
Review
andquot;Take a walk on the weirder side of mountain life with Sieberson, whose alpine misadventures include bizarre local cuisine, insistent music fans, and oh yes, the Englishman who revels in taking naked selfies. . . . This delightfully anecdotal memoir hops from Norway to Japan to Greece, among other high altitude locales.andquot;andmdash;Backpacker.com
Review
“Bodybuilding Jesuses, glorious thorough moving explorations of the word ‘bolt, the search for the finest foosball table in the world, beardlessness, wrestling, the many glories of Canada, towns filled with Vulcans, superheroes, house-lust, love, pain—a wry and piercing collection of adventures and misadventures from a terrific essayist. A book both tart and gentle, which I savored from the first line to the last.”—Brian Doyle, author of Mink River and Leaping
Review
“A wonderful book of essays, wry and wise, in which Eric Freeze considers what it is to be a twenty-first-century literary mans man in all his house-remodeling, sweet-parenting, foosball-playing glory.”—Jess Walter, author of Beautiful Ruins and The Financial Lives of the Poets
Review
“Eric Freeze is the kind of thoughtful writer and parent who will help us save the world.”—Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of Once Upon a River and American Salvage
Review
“Intelligent, curious, and self-effacing,
Hemingway on a Bike represents a truly singular work of creative nonfiction. Meditating on an improbably diverse range of subjects—including foosball, superheroes, Mormonism, home birthing, beards, fishing, Vulcans, and professional wrestling—Freeze proves himself to be the kind of writer who knows exactly how to plumb the idiosyncrasies of his own experience, and the results are playful and profound.”—Matthew Vollmer, author of
Inscriptions for Headstones and editor of
Fakes: An Anthology of Pseudo-interviews, Faux-lectures, Quasi-letters, “Found” Texts, and Other Fraudulent ArtifactsReview
“This book is so much more than Hemingway on a bike, and thankfully so. In wide-ranging meanders, Eric Freeze takes us around the globe and into experiences both personal and universal, from transporting a foosball table to gutting a fish to growing a patchy beard to witnessing attacks by a barracuda and a British talk-show host. The essays move deftly, pausing to ponder or to play in language; they keep us moving; they move us. What it comes down to is this: the book is wonderful because Freezes mind is so unfetteredly interesting.”—Patrick Madden, author of
Quotidiana
Review
andquot;Author and lawyer Sieberson enjoys his hobby, which has taken him around the globe and to the top of many of the world's mountains. His mountaineering trials and tribulations provide ample fodder for this informative and amusing book.andquot;andmdash;Sara Miller Rohan,
Library JournalSynopsis
Winner of the 2012 National Outdoor Book Award in Outdoor Literature
Day One, and already she was lying in her journal. It was 1993, Suzanne Roberts had just finished college, and when her friend suggested they hike California's John Muir Trail, the adventure sounded like the perfect distraction from a difficult home life and thoughts about the future. But she never imagined that the twenty-eight-day hike would change her life. Part memoir, part nature writing, part travelogue, Almost Somewhere is Roberts's account of that hike.
John Muir had written of the Sierra Nevada as a "vast range of light," and this was exactly what Roberts was looking for. But traveling with two girlfriends, one experienced and unflappable and the other inexperienced and bulimic, she quickly discovered that she needed a new frame of reference. Her story of a month in the backcountry--confronting bears, snowy passes, broken equipment, injuries, and strange men--is as much about finding a woman's way into outdoor experience as it is about the natural world she so eloquently describes. Candid and funny and, finally, wise, Almost Somewhere is not just the whimsical coming-of-age story of a young woman ill-prepared for a month in the mountains but also the reflection of a distinctly feminine view of nature.
Watch a book trailer.
Purchase the audio edition.About the Author
Suzanne Roberts teaches English at Lake Tahoe Community College and for the low-residency MFA program at Sierra Nevada College. Named “The Next Great Travel Writer” by National Geographic Traveler magazine, Roberts is the author of four collections of poetry, and has published work in numerous journals and anthologies.