The Twenty-Ninth Day

Surviving a Grizzly Attack in the Canadian Tundra

By: Alex Messenger

Narrated by: Alex Messenger

Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

A 600-mile canoe trip in the Canadian wilderness is a 17-year-old's dream adventure, but after he is mauled by a grizzly bear, it's all about staying alive.

This true-life wilderness survival epic recounts 17-year-old Alex Messenger's near-lethal encounter with a grizzly bear during a canoe trip in the Canadian tundra. The story follows Alex and his five companions as they paddle north through harrowing rapids and stunning terrain. Twenty-nine days into the trip, while out hiking alone, Alex is attacked by a barren-ground grizzly. Left for dead, he wakes to find that his summer adventure has become a struggle to stay alive. Over the next hours and days, Alex and his companions tend his wounds and use their resilience, ingenuity, and dogged perseverance to reach help at a remote village a thousand miles north of the US-Canadian border.

The Twenty-Ninth Day is a coming-of-age story like no other, filled with inspiring subarctic landscapes, thrilling riverine paddling, and a trial by fire of the human spirit.

©2019 Alex Messenger (P)2019 Blackstone Publishing

Wonderful

Great adventure well written wonderful to listen to. Impressed with the poise and care of quite and Alex’s strength through the entire ordeal
Must read

Great adventure

This was well written. The discription of the land and situations that come up. you can obtainincision what is happening easily.

book is mostly about the trip of a lifetime.

so much of this story is background the story of a trip. with a smaller part being about the bear attack. he vividly describes the experience of the "trip of a lifetime."
I would say that the sacrifices made for him to continue on with the group were immense. in many respects the team learned a lot about sacrifice and loyalty. they learned about working with someone in pain physically and mentally. it probably has helped them in life be more sensitive to people around them.

Encouraging

I loved this book! An incredible real life story about perseverance of the human spirit in the face of adversity, and great tribute to the power and beauty of nature. Alex is an excellent narrator, and I always enjoy hearing the author read their own work when they are able to narrate well.

A great story and very enjoyable.

Although this probably isn’t the most outstanding literature in terms of writing or narration, I still give it five stars because it was a perfect listen. I like that the victim is the author And the narrator. Some may find his delivery a bit flat or mono tone, but it worked for the story and for me. I find it appropriate and much preferable to dramatics and such.

great story

loved this book. Alex told the story well. I couldn't put it down. really makes you feel like you were there.

Great Book

Loved how it was narrated by the author, seemed to have more meaning to the story.

Both relaxing and thrilling

I loved this book! The author’s voice is really relaxing and I loved the amount of detail he poured into the his descriptions. If you loved Hatchet as a kid, you will love this one!

Incredible tale beautifully written

This memoir held me captive from the beginning to the end. At once a tale of adventure and survival in a rugged and mostly uninhabited wilderness and an internal exploration of the courage, intelligence and coping skills of a young man still in high school. The author’s writing is lyrical but never overwrought.
The author was a wonderful narrator. He spoke in a natural manner and did not add any unnecessary dramatics.
Read this book, no hiking, canoeing, or wilderness skills necessary!

Like you are there

Listening to the author read his memoir took me right into the story, he did that fine a job narrating.

Hats off to these young men and their courage taking a canoe trip such as thia one, and being able to deal with everything that nature throws their way.