Woodswoman by Anne LaBastille

Anne LaBastille was a pretty amazing woman.  In a time where most women wouldn't think of being on their own, she went out and built her own cabin in the Adirondacks and lived there alone.  And this book is the telling of her first couple years out there, and a little bit of her history before that.

With a divorce from her husband in her future, Anne needed to set out and find her own path.  After loving hiking, camping, and the outdoors, she decides to buy some land in the Adirondack wilderness and build a small cabin out there.  Without electricity and running water, or even an indoor toilet, it's very rustic, but it's where she finds home.   Spending her time writing, or with her dog, she finds peace out in the woods, and when she craves company she can always go into town.  She even goes over a couple harrowing experiences she has out by herself.  But the best thing about being there, is that she gains even more appreciate for the wilderness and the animals that live there.

Anne is the main character in this book.  Well, aside from her dog.  So we really only see her through her eyes, and she doesn't spend much time on herself.  Hardly any actually, she describes the wilderness around her.  She does touch on the few romantic interests she had in her life, but they are all positive, despite the relationships ending.  Even the man she divorces is shown in a mostly positive light in the book.  And her neighbors, aside from a few, are described positively as well.  She does tend to show a distaste for litterers and peace disturbers, but really, who could blame her?

Sometimes this book could drag on a little with the descriptions of the wilderness.  Although there were pictures to show a little bit of what it was like, it was hard to see what she was trying to describe sometimes.  But in all, I found it a very interesting book.  I liked the way she lived her life and how she seemed to be so at peace with her decisions.  Hers seemed an ideal life in some ways, although I'm not sure I'd ever be ok without an indoor toilet.  But to each their own.

An interesting book.  I will definitely look into reading the sequel.  I'm sure it will be just as interesting as this one.

Woodswoman
Copyright 1976
278 pages