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Pilgrim's Wilderness: A True Story of Faith and Madness on the Alaska Frontier by Tom Kizzia
missyjohnson's review against another edition
4.0
fascinating. The ability developed by someone to hold that much power over first his wife then all of those children is chilling to read about. The manipulation of religion/faith to justify actions and the fine line between that and possible madness is a conversation worth having.
ttodd86's review against another edition
5.0
I stumbled across this book while wanting to learn more about Alaska history after a trip that included a stop and some hiking in and around McCarthy. Kizzia does a good job in both covering the history of the area -- one of America's most breathtaking landscapes -- while also recounting the story of a madman and the family that was somehow able to survive his years of abuse.
teagwood's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.5
uberbutter's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
4.0
Pilgram's Wilderness follows the true life story of Robert Hale (also known as Papa Pilgram) and the absolute horror he put his wife and 16 children through all while using his faith and cult like views as the reasoning behind that horror. It's a well written, fascinating nonfiction book but I'm not going to lie, some of the details and stories left me wanting to vomit and that's not an easy feat for me. It's hard to say I enjoyed this book given the nature of it but it did keep my interest and the book did end with some hope for the future. There are MAJOR trigger warnings with this book including abuse in many forms, rape, and incest. While I would suggest reading Pilgrim's Wilderness because these children's stories deserve to be known, please keep these severe triggers in mind.
redhdlibrarian's review against another edition
2.0
Read “Educated” instead. You at least get a semblance of a happy ending.
Some insane people cannot be saved.
Some insane people cannot be saved.
estragal's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Child abuse, Rape, and Pedophilia
erincataldi's review against another edition
4.0
Nothing like a good ol' nonfiction book to make you say, "God's Underpants!!! What have I just read?!?!?!?!" I had never heard or read about this case before so this book was a real eye opener. Papa Pilgrim and his fifteen children moved to the wilderness of McCarthy, Alaska to get a fresh start. Papa Pilgrim and his clan operated on old school Christian ideals; their family had minimal contact with people, were "homeschooled" (most couldn't even read), and lived off the land. At first the small town of McCarthy (population less than 100 and insanely hard to get to as there were no roads and it was in the middle of a National Park) welcomed these nice, albeit weird, newcomers. But as months progress they began to sense that something was very wrong. Were they hiding out in Alaska, escaping from the past, what was wrong with the children, what were they doing up in the hills and why did they hate they hate the park rangers? This drama unfolds slowly over time and the trouble that author, Tom Kizzia, goes through to collect, newspaper clippings, testimonials, police reports, and more is staggering. As the case against the Pilgrim family grows, Papa Pilgrim seems to get more and more reckless. Was the family followers of Papa Pilgrims crazy Christian zeal or were they hostages too scared to get help in the wilderness. Gripping and masterfully told, this story of faith and madness on the Alaskan frontier will be sure to grip every reader.
I received this book for free from Blogging for Books in return for my honest, unbiased opinion.
I received this book for free from Blogging for Books in return for my honest, unbiased opinion.