A Short Walk to the Edge of Life: How My Simple Adventure Became a Dance with Death–and Taught Me What Really Matters by Scott Hubbartt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The list of things that go wrong for Scott Hubbartt, in his memoir A Short Walk to the Edge of Life, begins before he leaves his sister-in-law’s house in Trujillo, Peru. But a jacket left behind shouldn’t be a big deal for an eight-hour hike, should it? Hubbartt’s plan, with this trek through the desert section of the Andes mountains, is to retrace the steps of his Peruvian wife’s grandfather through the Altiplano to the village of Poroto and thus fulfill an item on his bucket list.
After a grueling bus ride to the trailhead, we accompany Hubbartt into a moonscape world that includes desert-like extreme temperatures, punishing terrain, paths and ledges overgrown with vicious thorns and cacti, a trail discernible only by old mule droppings, oxygen-thin air, no food, but most dangerous, no water.
His ordeal stretches from the day hike he is expecting, into night, then day two, and on. He is soon forced to dig deep physically, relying on survival skills learned during the Gulf War. But even those aren’t enough. As he feels death creep ever closer, he examines his relationship to God. Is he ready to die? What has his life meant? Why should God answer his demanding, to desperate, to panicked prayers for help and a miracle?
Hubbartt’s detailed, well-written memoir was, for me, a trip of discovery to a part of South America I knew little about. His story, especially the spiritual aspect, reinforced my faith in God and His way of showing up, albeit in typical sovereign and without-human-explanation fashion. It also made me ask, how would I feel about the way I’ve spent my life if I was unexpectedly faced with death?
A Short Walk to the Edge of Life is an engrossing and quick read. I recommend it to all lovers of memoir. It’s also a great human-against-the-elements story and as such would appeal to readers, especially guys, who like adventure that takes them to the limits of physical endurance.
I received A Short Walk to the Edge of Life as a gift from the publisher and Blogging for Books for the purpose of writing a review.
Violet Nesdoly 
I’m going to read it! (Thanks for the recommendation).
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As a memoirist yourself, I think you’ll enjoy this. I find it fascinating, how every memoir is different and takes on the personality of the writer (in what they choose to share and how they share it).
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It is a fascinating genre, and I do like reading memoir. I’m looking forward to this one. Thanks again! 🙂
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