The Twenty-Ninth Day

This memoir by Alex Messenger is intense and not for the faint of heart.  I could not put it down and read it in an afternoon.  The author describes in great detail his month long journey into the Northern tundra of Canada in 2005.   He ventured out with 5 other young men, including a guide to canoe the tundra within the Northwest Territories and Nanuchak 1000 miles from the US border.
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His description of the landscape, wildlife and journey are wonderful.  It is not hard to imagine you are in the canoe and tent right alongside these intrepid young men.   The story of his attack by the grizzly goes into great detail.  It is amazing he survived the attack and the subsequent journey to get back to civilization.

This is an example of the amazing ability to persevere  and overcome obstacles.  This book helped me to appreciate the growth my son experienced when he hiked the Appalachian Trail the other year with his Scout troop.     I must admit the story makes me a bit nervous to send him off on his next high adventure but that part of letting him grow and find himself. 

This is an amazing memoir that reads like a novel and I recommend it highly especially if you have an adventurer in your family.




The Twenty-Ninth Day by Alex Messenger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What an amazing story. Cannot believe this is a true story. What an experience Alex Messenger endured. The book does an amazing job of describing a life changing adventure journey over the Canadian tundra. He does a great job of describing how the experience transforms him even before the grizzly attack. The details of the attack and the subsequent care plan is amazing and demonstrates his internal strength

Amazing memoir full of description of the tundra and the experience


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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge -  Book #68
2. Literary Escapes-  Canada- Northwest Territories
3. 20 in 20:  #Read20in2020 #4 day/night in title
4. Memoir  #14 author under 40
5. Wizarding World Tour  
• Mahoutokoro: with an exquisite cover