The Way Out: A True Story of Survival

by Craig Childs

Craig Childs is lost. In a labyrinth of canyons in the American Southwest where virtually nothing else is alive - barely any vegetation, few signs of wildlife, and scant traces of any human precursors - Childs and his friend Dirk undertake a fortnight's journey. With as much food and gear as they can carry, and little else but their wiles to help them traverse the inhospitable, unmappable terrain, the two men assume the life-or-death challenge of exploring this land - and of then finding a way out.
Equally gripping as their adventure in the wild is the parallel story, told in flashback, of what has propelled the two men into these extreme circumstances. In scenes that crackle with tension and suspense - recollections of barroom brawls, high-speed car chases, and reckless feats of risk-taking - we discover the surprising legacy of violence that each man is escaping.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Travel, Survival, Adventure, Memoir, Natural History

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 7, 2005

About the author

CRAIG CHILDS is a commentator for NPR's Morning Edition, and his work has appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Men's Journal, Outside, The Sun, and Orion. He has won numerous awards including the 2011 Ellen Meloy Desert Writers Award, 2008 Rowell Award for the Art of Adventure, the 2007 Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award, and the 2003 Spirit of the West Award for his body of work.

Reviews

[Ian Mackay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks for this wonderful book!! It absorbed me from start to finish. The story acts on at least two levels all the way.
Childs tells stories from his life and that of his friend that illustrate and are illustrated by the incidents of the journey. To help us clues proliferate all through. Craig (a crag) and Dirk (a dagger) shape and hone each other all even as the land shapes and hones them. The journey mirrors the protagonists’ self discovery - although to put it tritely like that is to do this lovely account a grave injustice... hopefully though it may help someone in this prepackaged and ersatz age to sit with the odyssey till it opens itself to him/her.
This is a book to cherish and learn from and to revisit again and again.

[Yassemin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I purchased this for about 20p from my local library so to be completely honest, I wasn't really expecting too much but it sounded like a good read, so I got it anyway. All the more appealing as apparently, it is based on a true story.

It supposedly is a tale of survival, a man lost in the deserts of America, whilst on a nature trek with a friend and fellow nature enthusiast, called Dirk.

I therefore expected, given the nature of the book, details of the surroundings, sure. However, for all of the 60 odd pages I did read, it was pretty much NOTHING but detail and description of various rocks, stones, desert and wilderness formation with only minimal dialogue and character involvement in between.

I switched off pretty early as a result, it just didn't capture my attention.

I wouldn't recommend it, unless you need a cure for insomnia, then be my guest and read it.

Rubbish and boring!

[Waverly Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just reread this book, after taking a class with Craig Childs. I have to admit I loved it more the second time through. The description of the labyrinthine journey through the canyons is compelling, and the language is lyrical and spectacular. I especially love the personal stories of both Childs (mostly focusing on his relationship with his difficult and challenging father) and his companion, Dirk, an ex-cop (who has seen the worst of human nature due to his job). These stories resonate with the accounts of the dangers they face as they make their way through an uncharted landscape.

[Julie Weston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Craig Childs is one of my favorite writers. I have now read all of his books and recommend all of them. This story of survival enthralls and devastates. Childs has a way of drawing in readers, especially this reader, into his stories, so I feel as if I have lived them. It is always with sadness when I complete reading his books, and I am usually tempted to go back and begin one of his books all over again.

[Sabrina Corpac · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great survival hike by a traveling partnership. The action of Dirk's cophood with Craig's mixed feelings/memories of his dad blends in with this spiritual journey of overcoming obstacles and letting go.

[Mike Powers · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute page-burner; one of the best books that I've ever read. In crossing (on foot) canyons so remote that maps are useless-- where even the law won't go-- Childs and friend Dirk Vaughn risk life and limb to find The Way Out, all the while flashing back to monumental events in their lives that led them to this harrowing quest. Fascinating, compelling and erudite, The Way Out left me shaken and stirred.

[Caryn Womack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heartbreaking recollections of a tragedy that helps us to understand our thirst for adventure (and whether it’s worth it to take risks)

[Guy McArthur · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found the writing loathesome, often wrenched into 'creative' or pretentious constructions that get in the way of the book. For example, "my eye is so easily caught by the extravagant flash of entropy and of gestation that I forgot that between these two is inestimable dust" (WTF?). Moreover, it is quite boring, with relatively little action as the two men struggle to cross chasms. The only entertaining parts are when he recounts dark stories from the past. I would ordinarily love a book about this topic, exploring the desert southwest but the terrible writing had me very disappointed.

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book at once more personal and more stormy than other books of Child. It is for those very reasons that I at once enjoyed it and was a bit rattled by it. The disturbance that runs through it feels real and raw and it does give a different texture to the walk and the search. Underneath Child's capacity to drink silence and peace stirs much unrest. This time he shares that too. I liked having access to this, but it was not a restful read - so I guess his sharing was extermely efficient, as it always is.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a very satisfying read. Too metaphysical(or something) for me. Yes, the characters have issues but the way their pasts are intertwined with the story of the journey is a distraction. If you're looking for a tale of outdoor adventure, look elsewhere.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be a survival story, but it's more of a meditation of one's role in nature. Childs and friend hike the labyrinthian canyon lands of Utah, get lost, confront their inner demons. I enjoy the author's descriptions of the desert, but his flowery style gets tiresome.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sitting on shelf just waiting. A remarkable read of desert canyon hiking and self discovery. Nearly spiritual. Ok, more than nearly.

[Arizonagirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Craig Childs is like reading poetry, mixed in with some natural history, philosophy, personal trauma, and travel memoir. It's beautiful and thought-provoking. This is a story of Child's two-week trek through the badlands of the Navajo Nation with his best friend, Dirk. But it is also the exploration of Childs' difficult relationship with his abusive, alcoholic father and Dirk's violent career as a street cop.

I read this while traveling the lonely roads of the Navajo Nation and while isolating during our first Covid infection.

Some excerpts:

"The flood took a right turn down Hillary Drive, where a steep pillow of water piled against a fire hydrant. The underside of the canoe struck the big yellow nut on top. Water sprang through a sudden crease in the hull. Houses kept slipping by, each tightly packed against the next. People came to their porches. They saw me and shouted. Maybe phone calls were being sent ahead--you gotta see this guy, he's in a canoe! They clapped and raised their fists in the air for solidarity. I was fulfilling some long-held desire of theirs. I was betraying the grids of this enclosing city. Maybe I would be arrested. Maybe I would drown like people do every year in Phoenix floods. Regardless of outcome, I was a momentary hero."

"What do I know myself? I know that wind comes through, that it pulls me apart, that it threads this landscape and carries me off. All night I will wonder what part of me has blown away. Will I wake to find even my soul gone? I have too many loose end, I think. All of me could be snatched by the wind overnight, every small part whisked into the sky until I have been scatted like a dead man's ashes.
Tonight I am ruled at once by a thousand hissing voices. Messages bay from far off, tunneling through air alien to this desert, never staying long enough to sit native with its landforms. There is nothing worth talking about in this kind of wind. Just hold on."

"He glances up at me. He is not certain that this is the way, but he sees in my eyes reassurance, validation of these clues we have found. He thinks that he never would have come to this place alone. This maneuvering that goes on between us, hands reaching to hands, possibilities verified in glances and words, has magnified his abilities. Alone, he is an ordinary man. He lives in his fears and his own hoarded memories. When he comes to me, he feels the broken and jutted pieces of his life fit into mine, forming something whole. We become the light and the dark, carrying inside each of us a part of the other. Together, we are no longer ordinary men. We will find the way."

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was not the meditative journey across the desert that I thought it was going to be (after having read his "House of Rain". I didn't expect so much violence and trauma. He hiked this canyon shortly after his father's death and his emotions were pretty raw. Craig is a good story teller and the desert is a good place to work through trauma. I was surprised at how messy his pack was. Not knowing what was in there, he carried extra weight on his back. A perfect analogy of undealt with burdens. He has a descriptive style and though you get a good look at the landscape around him it is his internal landscape (imagination and memories) that lead the story. As they move through the convoluted canyons Child's ponders "we are moving through the shapes of our own minds". There is much to reflect on here and I long to ride on the back of a coyote through the desert night.

[Diane Winger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely captivating and immersive. I've long been a fan of Childs' gorgeous writing style, but somehow missed reading this book when it came out. It totally pulled me into his remarkable adventure, crossing a remote and incredibly rugged section of Utah's backcountry, as well as his stories of his own life and that of his hiking partner. A masterpiece!

[litost · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Childs romps through the Southwest deserts, it’s a place I love, and he takes me to parts of it where I cannot/would not go. Though there were parts of this book I did not enjoy: the bad cop and nasty dad stories. His writing is philosophical and his descriptions were even more flowery than usual. Overall, just ok for me.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book I have read by Craig Childs, and I found it just as beautifully written as the first. The descriptions of the American Southwest's most untraversed canyons and the emotions, memories and inner dialogues they bring out in these two travelers was both engaging and poetic.

[Debra Grady · Rating 3 out of 5]

a little slow

Good writer, amazing descriptions and thoughts but the story I was waiting for and the one I got was slower and dragged on a little less exciting than I thought it was going to be.

[Candy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I expected. It was interesting in parts but I was hoping for more description of the canyons and less philosophy.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars - good story, not the BEST of CC.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Craig Childs is without a doubt the greatest living nature writer, and this is an amazing read!

[Lenore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love hiking, love the southwest and love Craig Childs's ability to take us on a wild journey into places I may never see.

[Denise · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is killing me. Modern day white dudes waxing philosophical while walking in the desert. DNF at 100 pages.

[Marilyn Sanders · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF, the story couldn't pike my interest.

[Phil Rainey · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting writing

Real life people open their souls in a poetic way the hike through the canyons is amazing and impressive a must read

[Bill Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

more personal than most of his

For a writer who writes lyrics of his life, this one signals more pain, along with the beauty. Walk in beauty, and into life.

[Melissa Phillips · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of the personal stories were good but then I just wanted to find a way out of this book.

[Carie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to reading this --- hoping for something along the same lines as Fire Season or The Last Season, or even Childs' other works --- but found myself disappointed. It was an okay read, but I found the descriptions overwrought. Despite my usual ability to visualize outdoor settings, I had a very hard time picturing the environs described here, and an even more difficulty empathizing with the author's description of his emotional responses to the space. Worth a read, but not one of my favorite books in this genre.

[Michael John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this type of writing. Craig Childs does an excellent job of finding the way out of the "civilized" world in which we live and into the labyrinthine canyons of the Colorado Plateau. Two issues however. First, I didn't ever feel as if he and Dirk were lost. The sensation of panic and desperation never seemed tangible to this reader. Childs seemed more at home in the wilds than he did in the flashbacks to urban life. Dirk as well. These men seem awkward when dealing with society yet absolutely comfortable when "lost" in the wilderness. Not a novel of tension for me, but one of meditation and reflection. Secondly, in some ways, the location and journey seemed too vague for me at times. I realize that it was a spiritual journey, but at times it was a bit too spiritual. I couldn't feel the sandstone or smell the water or hear the silence. I envision the men moving through the canyons, but often found it hard to tell the canyons apart. When you travel as they have, every canyon has its own personality and that didn't come through clearly. I like the part about the Protectionway Ceremony and how the wilderness threatens yet protects at the same time. I was reminded of Meloy's book The Last Cheater's Waltz where she explored the connections between the desert, its beauty, and violence. Both men must deal with violence in their past, as do many of us today. Both reach their own conclusions in the branches of the canyon they choose at the end of the book. Looking forward to more of Child's work.