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Outsider: Tales from the road, the trail and the run
When you're busy trying to build a life, it's easy to forget who you are. Your job, your home, all the things we're expected to be can narrow your world, and ultimately quash your spirit. In Outsider, take a journey that hits the road across the West and explores mountainous wilderness. Meet the people who make this journey special. Take in the sights, sounds and smells of urban streets and wooded trails. And see how living the outdoor life not only revived a long-dormant love, but provided healing and direction when life went sideways.Outsider is a collection of stories focused on the outdoors, finding connection to wilderness and getting to know the place where you live through running, hiking and travel. It asks the tough questions about everyday life, loss, faith and stepping out of your comfort zone. It’s part memoir, part travelogue, and all about exploring the world at the most visceral level – on foot and in the wild.
248 pages, Paperback
Published July 16, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 20, 2018
I just finished Bob Doucette's new book: Outsider: Tales from the Road, the Trail and the Run. It is an account of his life with an emphasis on his love for climbing mountains, trail running, hiking, and fitness. He covers a lot of territory in this slim volume. How he and his brothers grew up loving the the outdoors and being fit. How he pursued his journalism career hard and neglected his health and then how he realized that he needed to make some changes and became intentional in his pursuit of his goals and chose the hard way to do things. He talks about the concept of wilderness and its importance to him and others. He also discusses spirituality and the loss of his brother and the tests to his faith that brought.
Bob weaves through this several tales of his adventures. Getting caught on the mountains in a rainstorm, road trips with friends, problems encountered and dealt with. He has climbed many of Colorado's famed peaks over 14,000 feet tall and makes some of them sound like a good walk and others sound very scary. He is a talented and competent writer and he tells his story well. He is a little self deprecating I suspect as I think some of the exploits might be a little more exciting than what he lets on. This book is a great read about a man who loves the outdoors. I give five stars out of five.
Doucette is a resident of Tulsa, works in journalism, and spends much time at Tulsa's Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness and a couple of years ago worked behind the scenes in support of the fight against city hall to allow an Outlet Mall on the mountain. He has a blog, https://proactiveoutside.wordpress.com/ where he writes mainly about outdoors issues. If he isn't working you might be able to find him at his gym lifting the big weights or running the trails on Turkey Mountain.
Bob weaves through this several tales of his adventures. Getting caught on the mountains in a rainstorm, road trips with friends, problems encountered and dealt with. He has climbed many of Colorado's famed peaks over 14,000 feet tall and makes some of them sound like a good walk and others sound very scary. He is a talented and competent writer and he tells his story well. He is a little self deprecating I suspect as I think some of the exploits might be a little more exciting than what he lets on. This book is a great read about a man who loves the outdoors. I give five stars out of five.
Doucette is a resident of Tulsa, works in journalism, and spends much time at Tulsa's Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness and a couple of years ago worked behind the scenes in support of the fight against city hall to allow an Outlet Mall on the mountain. He has a blog, https://proactiveoutside.wordpress.com/ where he writes mainly about outdoors issues. If he isn't working you might be able to find him at his gym lifting the big weights or running the trails on Turkey Mountain.
November 1, 2018
Bob is a good friend of mine from college. He's been an avid proponent of all things outdoors for quite some time now. In his book Bob shares how the connection of being a part of hiking, running, traveling filters into our daily life and our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. By way of each journey he's taken, he shares how he has been enlightened, moved, or transformed by the road/path taken and the people he's shared it with. Also how his solitary excursions gave him perspective, new found personal insights and resolve. Bob's heart is definitely in the telling of his stories. His personal narrative gives you a sense of sitting, hiking, running, riding with him on these treks.
August 22, 2025
This review is long overdue (mostly because my new Kindle was registered under my husband's Amazon account and it took me awhile to stop masquerading online as him).
Having worked with Bob long ago and followed his adventures for years on Facebook, Outsider was a delight to read. Especially enjoyable (for me, not always for Bob!) were the grueling treks that led to those dazzling, panoramic mountaintop shots.
Bob's love for nature really comes through in this collection of essays -- some humorous, some deeply emotional -- as does the value he places on his family, friends and his faith. He doesn't spare the reader when describing the punishing physicality of approaching outdoor challenges for which one isn't quite ready, but neither does he stint on extolling the rewards of getting outside and having an adventure. The result is an honest, deeply personal and well-written book that felt (for me) like a good heart-to-heart with an old friend.
As more of a climate-controlled gym person myself (perhaps a half-day hike on vacation at my most ambitious!), it was a great way to find out how the other half lives without getting muddy or wet or slipping on ice myself. The downside is that I enjoyed the descriptions so much that I've actually begun going on a few more (short!) hikes.
TL;DR: Wonderful, entertaining read, but beware of FOMO!
Having worked with Bob long ago and followed his adventures for years on Facebook, Outsider was a delight to read. Especially enjoyable (for me, not always for Bob!) were the grueling treks that led to those dazzling, panoramic mountaintop shots.
Bob's love for nature really comes through in this collection of essays -- some humorous, some deeply emotional -- as does the value he places on his family, friends and his faith. He doesn't spare the reader when describing the punishing physicality of approaching outdoor challenges for which one isn't quite ready, but neither does he stint on extolling the rewards of getting outside and having an adventure. The result is an honest, deeply personal and well-written book that felt (for me) like a good heart-to-heart with an old friend.
As more of a climate-controlled gym person myself (perhaps a half-day hike on vacation at my most ambitious!), it was a great way to find out how the other half lives without getting muddy or wet or slipping on ice myself. The downside is that I enjoyed the descriptions so much that I've actually begun going on a few more (short!) hikes.
TL;DR: Wonderful, entertaining read, but beware of FOMO!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews