Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

This book was disappointing to me, I found it hard to stay hooked and the storytelling felt mundane. I was hoping to get more out of this than I did. I am interested to see where this author's work goes from here.

I had high hopes for this book, but unfortunately it fell flat. I believe strongly that women's anger should be shared, but it felt performative instead of constructive. It also lacked narrative structure more typical in memoirs that help connect events over time and place.

Sadly this book was not for me. I hoped for more stories and insight into the authors life and HOW she overcame a sexist mans world, and I felt a lot of cynicism and anger instead. What could have been a beautiful and uplifting, empowering story felt really heavy on the man hate. As a woman I have been discriminated against as well for being a woman, though my story is different I tend to flock to stories that are positive and show the beauty of the world rather than focusing on the negative. Sadly I DNF this one eventually.

I love memoir books that relate to science and/or nature.

So, naturally (pun intended) I thought that a memoir by a journalist that is known for her outdoor and environment stories would be a good match for me.

However, I was very disappointed by the poor writing and lack of an interesting thread. It is unavailable that this book, came out of the amazing woman that I saw in several videos.

I can´t recommend the book, but I sure recommend the videos.

#MyPlaceAmongMen #NetGalley

I thought this book would have been a lot more interesting if the author spent less time on the sexism that she experienced in her life and provided the reader with more stories about the adventures she had in the wild. I have read so many books about women that grew up or worked in a "man's world", but this is one of the few that brought up how she was treated by men constantly throughout her book. I really thought this would be a book filled with interesting stories about her time in nature. I am giving it 2 stars because I did enjoy the stories she did tell about her adventures.

2.5 stars. I’ll be honest, this book was a bit disappointing. I’m usually a fan of nature/outdoors writing, and I like memoirs, too. But it was either something about Millgate’s story or her writing that just came off as cliched, stilted, and strange. Some of the stories peppered in were interesting, like how she tackled deer to put tracking collars on them or went to the standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. But then she has passages like this one in the prologue that just make me roll my eyes: <i>The result of my relentless pursuit to work where most women won’t is this: I know more about fishin’ than fashion, I’ll show you my boots but never my boobs, and I don’t want to hold your hand, so don’t try to hold mine.</i>

I understand that Millgate experienced sexism and a sense of being an outsider in her career, and I’m not trying to minimize the fact that she overcame those challenges. But I just didn’t find her story to be anything new or compelling. I found myself unsatisfied with the very run-of-the-mill stories, personal anecdotes, and life lessons she offers here. I might have liked the book better if it was more autobiographical and linear, allowing me to connect with Kris and feel like I was in her shoes, rather than a series of anecdotes that are loosely connected together.

Thank you to the publisher for providing my review copy. Quote is from an ARC and may be edited or may not appear in the final version.

When I read the description of this I thought: I have to read this. So I did. What enticed me is that this is a memoir from an outdoor journalist who was determined to make it her career and willing to put in the work. It sounded interesting. I love reading about the outdoors so I jumped on this book immediately.

The book starts with her telling the story of how she got a broken leg, this is the frame of the story. She’s stuck at home on the couch and she hates it. She’s an outdoor person, it’s her job and her passion. She uses the protoghaps around her to jump into various stories about grizzly bears, bald eagles, public lands and fishing. There is a clear conservation theme throughout the book, which I enjoyed a lot. I’m fascinated by how people take care of (or don’t) their lands. The other aspect, which I thought I’d love more is her being the lone woman among men. Turns out I didn’t. She has some accounts of sexist and unpleasant behaviors from men, several of which made me feel uneasy (in a good way). It definitely explains why there aren’t more women in the wilderness Millgate inhabits, and why she needs to be the absolute best when she sells herself as capable of doing a story she wants. At one point she is giving a talk to some students and she writes that one of the women who asks a question is there to find a baby daddy, this made me look up Millgate to see how old she was, and when this could be because it felt so very dated (I believe she is in her forties), and I understand that if this is what it was like in the US only ten/twenty years ago then this story is probably needed for some. Since I’m not from the US I thought it was interesting to read about this.

Unfortunately she’s very pushy about not being like other girls, she’s though, she likes the “squalor of the stinky wild” (describes it as dreamy), unlike “most women”. It is also important that we know that her husband is very very attractive. She makes a tired joke about not needing to “burn my bra to be recognized”, she doesn’t want special treatment because she is a woman, she can hold her own etc. etc. etc. This gets old fast, and this attitude is sprinkled throughout the book. I agree that women can do what men do, and the wild doesn’t care about your genetic makeup, but there are some differences that do require consideration from others, and humans can care. She lists her skills on multiple occasions, to the reader, or within the frame of her retelling.

There is also this story about her being poor when she grew up, and getting food delivered in a box on the door and how shameful that was. She doesn’t really deal with that shame, she just has a show of status (that only she gets) that proves that she isn’t there anymore. There is this underlying shame and fear of being poor and a failure. I get that, I have that too, but it feels disconnected to the rest of the story, and the insight she has comes in too late, she’s already bragged so much about herself, her skills and her hot husband that I find it hard to belive?

This is the core problem I have with this book, and why it ultimately didn’t work for me: She has these great insights dotted trohugout the book, about the realities of being a woman in this community, about the way that she is, but then the next story is void of that. Maybe because she in the moment hadn’t realized it, but she the narrator now does, she just told us. I think the way the narrative is built didn’t work for me. the “not like the other girls” trope is also a personal dislike for me, so if you don’t mind then I think you’ll enjoy this book a lot more than I did. I also think that the fact that I’m not from the US and don’t get the ins and outs of it’s culture detracts from my enjoyment.

This book was not my favorite, but it had a lot of good stuff: land protection and use, the practicalities of being a woman in a male dominated field and how that is or isn’t changing, some of the experiences she’s had make for great stories (that are also behind the stories, stories). I don’t think her sense of humor is close to mine, I did write down “I like this snark” at one point so there was something there, but not enough. I think that me not being from the US is a major detractor too. Millgate is interesting though, and I think that while this book didn’t work for me it will work for others.

This is such a good, GOOD book!
Kris Millgate is outdoor journalist who defies stereotypes and breaks the boundaries set by man dominated world.
She writes just like a journalist that she is so you will get very precise descriptions and sharp thinking about problems that we face with in world nowadays. Her writting will transport you without any problem next to her, nose in the ground and eyes on the grizlly bear.
This autobiography is filled with stories that she covered during last 10 years or so and they are always accompanied by pictures that she took herself.
What I did like is the fact that she did not make it all about women and men yet she never fails to remind herself and us that this is a men's world.
I really enjoyed this read because I learnt a lot about outdoor journalism and general situation in USA that is similar to situation in my country, Croatia. Public lands are being sold to highest bidders and we are losing our lands, waters and animals over money, power and greed.

I would give this book 4.5 stars only because I really wanted more descriptions of her surroundings because I am a true nature and animal lover and I like to read about that stuff.

It's not her, it's me. Really. :)