Beyond the bear : how I learned to live and love again after being blinded by a bear

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Title:

Beyond the bear : how I learned to live and love again after being blinded by a bear

Author:

Bigley, Dan

ISBN:

9780762784554

Physical Description:

ix, 212 pages : ill. 24 cm

Contents:

Until that day -- River of bears -- Last light -- This can't be happening -- Hanging on in the dark -- Little Red Riding Hood's hood -- Circling the wagons -- Armchair quarterbacks -- The vigil -- Opiate dreams -- Tribe of two -- Flailing through the fog -- Binoculars are a terrible thing to waste -- Diving with Captain Nemo -- Arboleda sessions -- Victory lap -- Life plan, take II -- Blackbeard and the blindies -- Back to the future -- Ungulate landmines and statistics sinkholes -- Blind date with a dog -- Family man in the dark.

Subject Term:

Bear attacks -- Alaska.

Camping injuries -- Alaska.

Blindness -- Alaska.

Outdoor recreation -- Alaska.

Face -- Wounds and injuries -- Patients -- Biography.

Added Author:

McKinney, Debra

Summary:

A 25-year-old backcountry wanderer, a man happiest exploring wild places with his dog, Dan Bigley woke up one midsummer morning to a day full of promise. Before it was over, after a stellar day of salmon fishing along Alaska's Kenai and Russian rivers, a grizzly came tearing around a corner in the trail. Dan barely had time for "bear charging" to register before it had him on the ground. His life was shattered by the mauling that nearly killed him, that left him blind and disfigured. This is a story of courage, tenacious will, and the power of love to lead the way out of darkness.

Holds:

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Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake)	921 BIGLEY	Searching... Unknown
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	921 BIGLEY	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Stillwater Public Library	921 BIGLEY	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

One beautiful July day, Dan Bigley set out for a day of salmon fishing on Alaska's famed Russian River. A man with an insatiable need to venture where roads are rare, Dan couldn't have been happier as he started his day: He had a great job and a million-dollar view from his cabin, where his girlfriend, Amber, still slept. But that pristine snapshot in time was shattered when a grizzly bear snuck up and attacked, leaving him disfigured and blind.

After Dan was found nearly dead, Amber's love was not lost. Extensive readjustment to an altered life and many surgeries later, the couple's unforgettable story is one of courage and the power of love to lead the way out of darkness.

Author Notes

Dan Bigley, who earned a master's degree in social work after losing his sight, is now the director of therapeutic foster care services at Denali Family Services in Anchorage and was awarded a 2008 Alaskan of the Year Award by the Governor's Committee on Employment and Rehabilitation for People with Disabilities. Debra McKinney is a freelance writer who was part of a team that won journalism's highest honor, the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, for the Anchorage Daily News.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

In 2003, outdoor-loving Bigley nearly lost his life in a savage bear attack in Alaska, the gory details of which are difficult to read. The animal not only bit but actually chewed on Bigley's head. The horrific injuries, which claimed his eyesight, required multiple surgeries to repair. This moving memoir of his experiences, coauthored with journalist McKinney, is more about Bigley's emotional recovery and beyond-impressive triumph over adversity. Although his very survival was in doubt after the mauling, Bigley manages to weather the painful aftermath and the blow of learning that his sight is gone forever, thriving in the end. He completed a master's program in social work with straight-A grades, and now works as a director of therapeutic foster care, overseeing 60 homes. The woman who was his girlfriend at the time of the attack is now his wife, and mother of their two children. Readers will appreciate Bigley's inspirational and well-written story. Agent: Elizabeth Evans, the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

While fishing with a friend on a balmy July day in the Alaskan back country, Dan Bigley, a transplanted Californian and avowed nature enthusiast, was viciously mauled by a grizzly bear. After the bear bit into his face and eye sockets, leaving him permanently blind, the emergency technicians and trauma surgeons who treated Bigley expected the worst. Yet, as described in this inspiring first-person account of the heroic measures undertaken to save his life, Bigley not only survived but today is thriving, with a growing family and a budding career counseling emotionally disturbed children. Bigley, with the assistance of coauthor McKinney, unflinchingly recounts the horrific details of the mauling and its aftermath, from the multiple grueling surgeries needed to reconstruct his face to the tribulations involved in adapting to life as a blind person. Perhaps the most moving part of his story, however, is his relationship with Amber, the woman he fell for the night before the attack, who has remained steadfast despite his early attempts to let her go. A well-written and touching tribute to human resilience.--Hays, Carl Copyright 2010 Booklist

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Booklist Review

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