Photo contributedAuthor and wilderness dweller Chris Czajkowski and Harry will appear at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28 at the Salmon Arm Library, with free slide-show presentations.

Photo contributedAuthor and wilderness dweller Chris Czajkowski and Harry will appear at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28 at the Salmon Arm Library, with free slide-show presentations.

Bringing the wild inside

Wilderness dweller and noted author tells her stories at two Shuswap libraries

Join bestselling author Chris Czajkowski and her gregarious and lovable pack dog Harry for a slide shows based on her new book, Harry: A Wilderness Dog Saga, which provides a fascinating depiction of living in the wilderness – from a dog’s eye view.

Czajkowski’s presentation, which will be followed by book signings, is takes place at the South Shuswap Branch of Okanagan Regional Library at 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27.

Featuring photos, illustrations and stories about their other canine companions, the slide presentation portrays their off-the-grid life and how Czajkowski established an ecotourism business, built cabins by hand and scratched out a living for herself and the pack.

Harry: A Wilderness Dog Saga, which is written entirely from Harry’s perspective, is an adventure story that combines Harry’s own observations about his years with Chris with reminiscences from his other canine companions (wise Badger, beautiful Ginger and his literary predecessor Lonesome).

He describes how, living in the remote wilderness, the dogs have a rich life, although one not without its difficulties. Often residing in areas accessible only by float plane, they have encountered grizzlies and cougars, slept in the snow, hiked with packs of food and equipment, and gotten into some perilous scrapes. Harry relates these stories with good humour and many observations about quizzical human behaviour.

Czajkowski lives in a small community in the B.C. interior and has written 12 books about her nearly 40 years of wilderness living, including Snowshoes and Spotted Dick, Letters from a Wilderness Dweller, Wildfire in the Wilderness, Ginty’s Ghost: A Wilderness Dweller’s Dream Published by Harbour Publishing, and Lonesome: Memoirs of a Wilderness Dog published by TouchWood Editions.

These events are made possible with the support of the Okanagan Regional Library, the Salmon Arm, South Shuswap Friends of the Library and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Czajkowski will also appear at the Revelstoke Branch at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 26 and at the Salmon Arm Branch at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28.

To register, call 250-675-4818.

Salmon Arm Observer