BABE IN THE WOODS: BUILDING A LIFE ONE LOG AT A TIME unfolds the story of Yvonne Pepin Wakefield’s first trying year in the woods near John Day, Oregon. Determined to prove self-reliance while seeking inner healing, the author nonetheless came to appreciate the wisdom of locals who helped with design and building, provided resources and advice, and came to her aid in crises.

Drawing on her journals and sketchbooks, BABE IN THE WOODS reveals a firsthand experience in language that is by turns lyrical, technical, colorful, intimate, and insightful. Wakefield's memoir will resonate with those who appreciate Henry David Thoreau's experiences and observations at Walden Pond and Cheryl Strayed’s journey of self-discovery in Wild. Her story will appeal equally to a back-to-nature generation that recalls eight-tracks, the AMC Gremlin, and the heady days of Ms. Magazine—and to readers of any age who wonder what it's really like to live in the deep woods alone.

BABE IN THE WOODS, the first volume in a planned trilogy, captures the highs and lows of a ninety-eight-pound teenager working in a man’s world with secondhand tools, a few books, and a dose of ingenuity. This true story of one woman’s survival in the wilderness puts an honest and gritty face on the fantasy of living alone in the forest. Wakefield's candid, revealing account offers humorous, timeless, and borderless insights about confronting and overcoming failures and redefining success.

Four decades later Wakefield still returns to this cabin in the woods.

Books will be available for sale.

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