The Bear's Embrace: A Story of Survival - Hardcover

Van Tighem, Patricia

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375421319 ISBN 13: 9780375421310

Publisher: Pantheon, 2001

Synopsis

An extraordinary story of survival and recovery by a woman who was attacked by a grizzly bear.

On a sunny fall day in 1983, Patricia Van Tighem and her husband, Trevor, began a hiking trip in the Canadian Rockies with a two-thousand-foot climb through rocks and forest. The next morning, in a landscape dusted by snow, they crossed paths with a grizzly bear–and their lives were forever changed.

That Van Tighem survived at all is a miracle, and her account of the attack is vivid and startling. But her recovery was just as disturbing: Her numerous reconstructive surgeries were painful; her facial
disfigurement isolated her; and the nightmares that haunted her carried their own psychological burden. Yet she was eventually able to accept her unthinkable experiences, and to put her life back together as a survivor, a wife, and a mother.

With honesty and eloquence, The Bear’s Embrace tells of the unpredictability of life, of bravery, terror, rage and love, of what it means to look and feel different in a culture that values perfection. Uncommonly affecting, often astonishing, The Bear’s Embrace is an inspiring story of human
perseverance and self-knowledge.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

“A literary marvel that describes the author’s experiences with clarity and immediacy, reflects on them with calmness and candor, and draws the reader into a world that, in less skillful hands, might easily repel or terrify.” —The Globe and Mail

“This isn’t just a book about bears. It’s about how fear can be transmuted to strength and knowledge can be born of pain.” —Chateleine

“This story of love and survival is unlike any other illness narrative. In vivid, finely crafted prose, Patricia Van Tighem disturbs, comforts, and always enlightens us about suffering. I read The Bear’s Embrace with great admiration.” —Arthur W. Frank, author of The Wounded Storyteller

“Van Tighem’s story is a testimony of courage.” —Maclean’s

“Don’t read this book for a feel-good triumph over tragedy. Instead, read it for the achingly honest telling of how things happen with no sense of fairness. It is heartening how the human spirit can rise to survive and share. I found myself rooting hard for Patricia’s success.” —Bonnie Sherr Klein, author of Slow Dance

About the Author:

Patricia van Tighem’s story has been featured on National Geographic and BBC television. Trained as a nurse, she lives in a small town in the mountains of British Columbia with her husband and four children.

About this edition

• Publisher: Pantheon
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0375421319
• ISBN 13: 9780375421310
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288