**A mesmerizing memoir from three-time Newbery Honor–winning author Gary Paulsen—whose books have sold over 35 million copies worldwide—giving readers a new perspective on the origins of his blockbuster contemporary classic *Hatchet* and other famed survival stories.** **“Leaves you gritting your teeth and clutching the pages . . . Haunted *me* as a reader.”** — *The New York Times Book Review* ★ **“This literary treasure is written for book lovers of any age.”** — *Shelf Awareness* , starred review His name is synonymous with high-stakes wilderness survival adventures. 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. An entrancing and critically lauded account of grit and growing up, perfect for newcomers and lifelong fans alike, *Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood* is literary legend Gary Paulsen at his rawest and realest. **Don’t miss Gary Paulsen’s other acclaimed books from Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers: the father-son comedy *How to Train Your Dad* and the page-turning survival adventure *Northwind*.**