Writing as Life & Death: Craig Childs

 

Craig Childs writes like it is a matter of life and death.  If you have read some of his books, you will understand why in The Way Out: A True Story of Ruin and Survival.  Here, Childs lays it all out: the history of his family, their struggles, their torn broken hearts and souls.  In a broader sense, the book is about how men (the male of the human species) react to violence.  One way is this: for this author, who explores harsh lands in the desert southwest, traveling the land is the apparent enactment of a death wish.  In this book, we realize how closely death has followed Childs, and how closely he had followed it, for decades.