"Desert Solitaire"

Ashley Smith
Outside Reading

I lately just finished reading a book titled, “Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness,” written by Edward Abbey. I happened to come across the book among one of the old dusty bookshelves at my mother’s house. The book focused on celebrating the beauty of living in a harsh and hostile land (a.k.a. the wilderness). It was a fairly easy read. It consists of a series of wilderness adventures that a man embarks upon throughout his lifetime, and the realizations and discoveries he makes while on these excursions. The first chapter of the book begins with, “This is the most beautiful place on earth. There are many such places. Every man, every woman, carries in heart and mind the image of the ideal place, the right place, the one true home, known or unknown, actual or visionary” (Abbey 1). These first several statements caught my attention immediately. I felt as if I could deeply relate to and understand Abbey’s writing. It might have been due to the fact that for the past semester I have been studying how certain places or spaces can be considered as sacred to different people for different reasons. I think it is true; everyone holds an image of the “perfect place” in their mind, in which they think is the most beautiful and the place best suited for their lifestyle.