Hiking Naked

Hiking Naked, A Quaker Woman's Search for Balance

Iris Graville

The title, Hiking Naked, in my opinion, is a bit of a misnomer because although there is hiking, even a bit of skinny-hiking, in this non-fiction book and it is set in an outstanding area for hiking, the flavour of the book is much more contemplative. The stress should fall on A Quaker Woman's Search for Balance. Having this book sitting around the house definitely attracts attention, so I wonder if the book publishing nobs thought the provocative title would help sell books. 

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Knocked off her feet after twenty years in public health nursing, Iris Graville quit her job and convinced her husband and their thirteen-year-old twin son and daughter to move to Stehekin, a remote mountain village in Washington State's North Cascades. They sought adventure; she yearned for the quiet and respite of this community of eighty-five residents accessible only by boat, float plane or hiking. Hiking Naked chronicles Graville's journey through questions about work and calling as well as how she coped with ordering groceries by mail, black bears outside her kitchen window, a forest fire that threatened the valley, and a flood that left her and her family stranded for three days.

I'd like to observe that the family did not just move and live. They participated in the new community, working hard to "make it work". Even the kids worked hard - at school, with chores and at part-time jobs. Life itself is a job, requiring our best effort.

I have to say that I enjoyed this book a lot. Contemplative writing is a genre that I often return to, finding myself in others' journeys. Graville has a no-nonsense writing style that is clear and that moves along briskly, not succumbing to an over-abundance of introspection. I felt truly caught up in this adventure that her family undertook so long ago and can fully understand how it helped to shape their lives that followed. 

What an undertaking it is, and possibly a privilege too, to pare down the trappings of a modern life and move to a simpler lifestyle, even if for a short time. Not everyone could or would even want to do this, so to read about it feels like a wonderful gift that the author has shared with us.