How to Survive

I love it. I was expecting "how to build a fire" and got "how to get through the shittiest times in real life". It is now required reading for both of my children and I will probably pester my husband until he reads it too.

Hudson walks you through several life AND death situations and delves in to the reasons people survive or don't survive in the most positive way you could imagine. It's all in your head.

I really wish this was out before Christmas because I would happily wrap 3 of these copies for my family. With the world in its current state How to Survive provides readers old and young with some direction and guidance on how to survive through the shit life throws at you and thrive.

How to Survive isn't your typical survival book. While it's got some things that you would find in your "Dummies Guide To Survival" kinds of books like how to build a fire or how to build an igloo it's less of a how-to book and more of a book on how survival psychology works and why you need to do certain things to not just survive being marooned on a deserted island but also to make it through the stresses of everyday life.

Written by RAF survival instructor (and the British Dude on "Dude, You're Screwed" which aired on Discovery way back when), John Hudson breaks down why you need to train yourself to react. How to handle panic attacks. How to handle things like, oh say, a global pandemic that locks down your city/state. It's a book on psychology but a practical book that's filled with anecdotes featuring people who survived but also those who didn't and it analyzes what they did right and what they did wrong and how you can apply that to your standard life.

The book is laid out in a logical manner, centering around anecdotes and stories from history as a framing device and learning module. I found it easy to follow, and I also appreciated the bullet points at the end that were essentially a TL:DR for the chapter. It reminded me in some ways of a textbook, which makes sense considering what the author does for a living.

It's a book that as I read I could see a lot of value it. It answers a core question: Why. Why study survival? Why prepare for the worst case scenario? Why carry a few small supplies, just in case. Why do things in a certain order. Etc. I've already recommended it to a few people who I've seen not be able to handle something unexpected or panic in several situations. Or those who I've seen get overwhelmed by life and trying to figure out how to triage things.

Additionally as an editor, I also would recommend this book for people who are interested in writing characters dealing with a survival situation. Knowing how an everyday person vs. a trained person reacts can be invaluable in creating believable scenarios and characterizations. This extends beyond the action/adventure genre but also into sci-fi, fantasy, YA, paranormal, urban fantasy, and even Romantic Suspense.

I fully enjoyed this book

And so because of that I give this:

Five Stars