Will to Wild: Adventures Great and Small to Change Your Life

Embrace adventures both big and small and pursue your wild ideas with this motivational guidebook from seasoned adventurer and podcaster Shelby Stanger.

Will to Wild is an instruction manual to adventure. Your guide: enthusiastic outdoorswoman Shelby Stanger. Shelby has been teaching folks how to leap into the unknown since she taught her first surf class over twenty years ago. Over the years, she watched many of her students quit their jobs, end dysfunctional relationships, and move across the country for a healthier work-life-balance--all after spending a bit of time in nature. Shelby marveled at the phenomenon. Being outside was changing the lives of her students, her peers, and herself. Shelby was so intrigued, she began to tell their stories, first as a writer and journalist, then as a podcast host for Wild Ideas Worth Living, REI Co-op Studio's flagship podcast.

With her first book, Will to Wild, Shelby shares all she's witnessed and learned in her years covering adventurers. It's the book she wishes she'd had when she'd first felt the urge to leap from familiar to wild terrain. The one that takes you step-by-step from the first inkling of inspiration for your own wild idea through fear and self-doubt and on to the finish line.

In these pages, you will find stories with practical tips and tactics from world-famous rock climbers and ultra-runners, to longtime thru-hikers, surfers, desk jockeys who've figured out how to get off the clock, and even a suburban mom who started teaching women to scale frozen waterfalls in her mid-fifties. Along with Shelby's stories, they will show you how to get unstuck, how to pay attention to "trail signs" that point you toward your adventure, how to face your fears, and what to do when everything goes haywire (which will likely happen, never fear!). With Shelby's characteristic strength and vulnerability, Will to Wild encourages you to break out of your comfort zones, get out into nature, and bring their own wild ideas to life. Whether you're already an adventure junkie or someone who's never set up a tent, there's something inside these pages for you.

Author: Shelby Stanger
Publisher: S&s/Simon Element
Published: 06/06/2023
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.20w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9781982194307


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 04/17/2023

About the Author
Shelby Stanger is the host and creator of the hit podcast, Wild Ideas Worth Living, an REI Co-Op Studios production. Over the years, her work has appeared everywhere from Outside Magazine to ESPN, and she has spoken to organizations like The Girl Scouts of America, NPR, and Creative Mornings. Always chasing adventure herself, Shelby has surfed from Canada to Costa Rica; sand-boarded down desolate dunes in Cape Town; paddled down a remote portion of the Amazon River (so many bug bites); and interviewed countless CEOs, athletes, activists, and thought leaders. She regularly consults with highly motivated individuals and brands to tell better stories and even launch their own podcasts and wild ideas. You can find more at ShelbyStanger.com.