Fall Reading Challenge - Wild Awakening - Book # 4

The month of November is winding down and as it does so is my time to do these posts of the books I have read for the Fall Reading Challenge that Colletta began on her blog and you can read more about it here.

This will be book number 4 and I am happy to say that I also have book number 5 read and will be posting about it soon. This particular book was a non fiction book, which is not typical for the books I chose for the challenge, but I must say I am glad that I did.  I read this book in 3 days and was fascinated by the entire story.

Title: Wild Awakening

Author:  Greg J. Matthews with James Land

Series: No

Pages: 214

Date Published: 2019

Publisher: Howard Books

Blurb: 

Greg Matthews was the ultimate poster-boy for masculinity. Avid hunter and outdoorsman, Air Force and civilian firefighter, EMT, rescue helicopter pilot, fugitive recovery agent, Ground Zero volunteer and more, Greg had spent his whole life striving to serve others but for all the wrong reasons. After his parents’ divorce when he was young, Greg believed deep down that the only way he could be loved and valued—by his father, by his family, and by God—was if he earned it through daring, high-stakes, high-risk—what society commonly refers to as “manly”—achievements.

But everything changed when an idyllic hunting trip through the backwoods of Alaska turned into a harrowing fight for his life. Greg was attacked by a grizzly bear—but the gruesome, nearly fatal conflict offered an unexpected encounter with God. Greg’s eyes, and more importantly, his heart, were finally opened to the lie that he’d internalized as a child: that his dangerously high-risk achievements were the sole signifiers of his worth. The road to recovery was long and painful, but it forced Greg to come face-to-face with the long-held view of manhood he had absorbed as his own identity. The relentless grizzly uncovered something in Greg’s heart: that he was being pursued by an equally persistent God, who loved him unconditionally.

A gripping tale of survival and a rebuttal to outmoded notions about masculinity, Wild Awakening offers an alternative way of living in the world, allowing them to finally see their value in God’s eyes.

My Thoughts:

Fascinating story! Greg was facing a trip of a lifetime with his brother- a hunting trip to Alaska. As he prepares for this trip, his mind allows him to prepare for most anything that could happen to them while they are away and his avid hunting and outdoorsman skills as well as the jobs he has had allow him to know what the best survival items are. So he begins to pack things that most people probably never truly think of. 

As the trip is going well and they are thrilled to be in Alaskan wild country on the trip, one day a sight disturbs Greg a bit, bear scat - sure signs that one or more has been where they are. They continue their trip though and just as the hunt is on, a grizzly bear attacks Greg and all of his training and preparation is not enough to fight her off. As she mauls, bites, and tears at his skin, arms, legs, and head - he fights. He begins to think of his wife and children that will be left behind with only memories of the work that he has accomplished. 

Suddenly, Greg's realization that his high risk lifestyle and his manly achievements are not the things he wants to be remembered for. He wants his memory to be more. He wants to hug his children once again, he wants to  hold his wife again, he wants to live. His fight for life and his recovery change more than just his life, it changes his beliefs and his heart! 

This book captures your mind immediately and never lets go. It is an edge of your seat reading that makes you want to continue to read without laying the book down. It is an honest look at the way we live our lives and what truly matters versus what we are taught matters. I would highly recommend that you read it. One of my favorites of this challenge that I have read! 

*Disclaimer: I normally do not add affiliate links to these posts, but I fell in love with this book and would hope that others would read it as well, so I am asking that you allow me to possibly earn a little off of this if you choose to purchase this. Any sales I make from this affiliate link, will go to the feed that it takes to house the animals that we do. 

Wild Awakening