It is with great pleasure that I am finally writing my first book review on this blog, and it could only be for How to Suffer Outside: A Beginner’s Guide to Hiking and Backpacking. As its title suggests, this award-winning book is the handbook for all things backpacking. But even if you have no interest in the outdoors, you should read How to Suffer Outside because it is extremely witty and funny. And inspirational. And because the author is a pretty incredible human being. But even if she were not, I would still recommend this book.
This was the first book I found at my local REI, and after its colorful illustrations grabbed me, the words I read inside would not let go. This is not your typical naturalist’s or adrenaline junky’s introduction to high adventure. Diana Helmuth comes from a place of humility and self-deprecation. She presents herself as an everyday person—one who “has a bunion and eats too much cake” and “sits in an IKEA chair all day and gets upset when people don’t color-code their speadsheet columns correctly.” She then confirms that you can enjoy backpacking and hiking no matter who you are, and she tells you how to comfortably and safely begin doing so.
The humor in her masterwork is brilliant, but it does not overshadow the educational value. Diana provides crash courses in separate chapters on such essentials as gear, clothes, shelter, food, hygiene, and yes, even “poop.” She provides practical, easily understood advice on what she uses on the trail and how she uses it, while often recounting lessons she learned the hard way by failing to follow her recommendations. She explains affordable alternatives to expensive hiking and camping gear and freeze-dried dinners, while also extolling their virtues and suggesting the reasons for preferring each option. She even provides websites and other helpful resources that will help you enjoy your time on the trail.
When I began my adventures backpacking in middle age two Decembers ago, I was largely inspired and guided by How to Suffer Outside. I used it to confirm that I had all I needed in my backpack and to identify what to leave at home. I returned to it when deciding how to upgrade my sleeping bag and what camp stove and cooking gear to use. Given that I was long removed from my Boy Scout days, How to Suffer Outside likely kept me from passing out from dehydration or blowing myself up with isobutane.
Coincidentally, How to Suffer Outside also inspired my writing. To say I’ve attempted to copy Diana’s humor and pace (or “sample” them, as the hip-hop artists used to say) would be an understatement, and I’ve also hijacked her mantra of backpacking being available to all as a theme in my book. As I describe in the “Acknowledgments” section of my book, Diana also played an instrumental role in inspiring my book and helping me bring it to life. But that does not mean I’m biased. By any objective or subjective measure, How to Suffer Outside is a bonified page turner that is hard to put down. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the outdoors, as well as anyone who likes to laugh, indoors or out.
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