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Gone to the Woods by Gary Paulsen
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Gone to the Woods

Surviving a Lost Childhood

$20.99

Get for $14.99 with membership
Narrator Dan Bittner

This audiobook uses AI narration.

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Length 6 hours 45 minutes
Language English
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"Dan Bittner flawlessly narrates this matchless memoir, which captures writer Gary Paulsen's bittersweet life...The sublime narration and satisfying conclusion contribute to a rewarding listening experience." -- AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner

A middle grade memoir from a living literary legend, giving listeners a new perspective on the origins of Gary Paulsen's famed survival stories.


His name is synonymous with high-stakes wilderness survival stories. Now, beloved author Gary Paulsen portrays a series of life-altering moments from his turbulent childhood as his own original survival story. If not for his summer escape from a shockingly neglectful Chicago upbringing to a North Woods homestead at age five, there never would have been a Hatchet. Without the encouragement of the librarian who handed him his first book at age thirteen, he may never have become a reader. And without his desperate teenage enlistment in the Army, he would not have discovered his true calling as a storyteller.

A moving and enthralling story of grit and growing up, Gone to the Woods is perfect for newcomers to the voice and lifelong fans alike, from the acclaimed author at his rawest and realest.

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux


Gary Paulsen (1939โ€“2021) wrote more than two hundred books for children and adults, including the father-son comedy How to Train Your Dad, and the survival adventure Northwind. Three of his novelsโ€”Hatchet, Dogsong, and The Winter Roomโ€”were Newbery Honor books. In 1997, he received the ALAโ€™s Margaret A. Edwards Award for his contribution to young adult literature. His books have sold over 35 million copies around the world.

Dan Bittner has narrated dozens of audio books and has starred on stage and on the screen, in movies such as Men in Black, Adventureland, and the Producers: The Movie Musical. He has also appeared onstage as Macbeth Malcolm and Sherlock Holmes in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He has narrated popular audio books such as The Eleventh Plague, Hero, and Forever.

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Limited-time offer

Get two free audiobooks when you make the switch!

Nowโ€™s a great time to shop indie. When you start a new membership supporting local bookstores with promo code SWITCH, weโ€™ll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.

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Gift audiobook credit bundles

You pick the number of credits, your recipient picks the audiobooks, and your local bookstore is supported by your purchase.

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Get two free audiobooks AND support local bookstores Make the switch