by Rob Kesselring 2003, $14.95 
Review by Toby L. Berry
You don’t have to have a daughter, be a father or paddle a canoe to enjoy this book.
Author Rob Kesselring, does such a superb writing job that I laughed out loud one moment, and wiped a tear of sorrow from my cheek the next, while reading his highly personal, true account of time spent in the Northwest Territories (NWT) of Canada.
Kesselring’s daughter, Lara, is a typical 14-year-old in the affluent suburb of Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Her father worries about her self-esteem and the values that emerge from such an environment, and so decides to take her on a month long trip into the barren wilderness of the NWT to show her another side of life. Hungry for a reason to return to the NWT himself, Lara’s coming of age is his multi-purpose excuse.
Most of the first half of the book describes Kesselring’s early years in the NWT, including his relationships with the natives of the area, the Chipewyan Dene (people).
He writes about history, social anthropology, airplane mechanics and even firearms in surprisingly interesting detail by weaving this information relevantly into his experiences. For example, we learn a bit about small airplanes when Kesslering grippingly describes perilous flights he and others take in subzero degree weather.
The book covers issues like sustainability, the conflict between man and nature, and civilization’s intrusion on tradition, without sermonizing.
Best of all, Kesselring is a true storyteller. He had me laughing often, but my favorite story was when he described a group of Minnesota fishermen flown in to remote Nonacho Lake, where Kesselring and his then wife, Bonnie, had a cabin. “After two and a half hours of drinking beer and sitting in that vibrating aircraft, for those Minnesota fisherman, urination was the top priority. They lined up on a snow bank like blackbirds on a wire, zippers down when Bonnie came over the hill. A smiling blond was a least-expected vision. The six men caught midstream with their hands on their penises were dumbfounded. Bonnie was nonplussed. She was so thrilled to have visitors, she chatted nonstop.”
In the second half of the book, Kesselring delves into his trip with Lara. One of the most poignant parts is when Lara is afraid to take her responsibility in the bow of the canoe in the rapids, directing her dad, who is steering in the stern. He describes how he told Lara a story. I don’t know if he made it up or heard it from the Chipewyan, but it is about a frightened girl who goes to an old woman for advice. The old woman said, “You have two dogs in your stomach, one dog is fear and the other dog is courage. The two dogs are having a fight.” The girl asks in frustration, “Which dog will win?”
To which the old woman replies, “The dog that you feed will win.”
I am sure that Lara, even now, 10 years later, thinks about this story and feeds her courage-dog when necessary. The author, too, must have fed his courage-dog in order to write and publish such a candid and personal account.
The best way to get a copy of the book is to order online at: www.robkesselring.com
This article appeared in Wilderness News Fall 2007