NATIONAL BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE 2025 GOVERNOR GENERAL’S LITERARY AWARD FOR NON-FICTION • Globe and Mail’s Best Books of 2025 • CBC’s Best Canadian Nonfiction of 2025 • Spotify’s Best of the Year So Far
“At once a memoir, a meticulously researched investigation, and a meditation on the force of nature, Claire Cameron weaves the narrative together seamlessly in a tale of courage, determination, and, above all else, love. A remarkable achievement that teaches us not only how to survive, but how to thrive, even when the odds are stacked against you.” —David A. Robertson, author of The Theory of Crows and Black Water
“Deeply researched and profoundly moving, Claire Cameron’s wonderful book is, at root, a braided love story, by turns heartbreaking and terrifying, but above all brimming with a fierce affection—for her family, for her subjects, and for the precious, precarious act of staying alive. I could not put it down.” —John Vaillant, author of Fire Weather and The Tiger
“True wilderness has no narrative. It is immediate, and visceral, beyond words at the time, and often beyond description later. So, it speaks to Claire Cameron’s courage and skill as a writer that she has triumphantly wrested such a compelling and profound story out of her journey, both into the wild heart of bear country, and into the terror-filled landscape of a devastating cancer diagnosis. How to Survive a Bear Attack is a transcendent, powerfully moving, brilliant literary achievement.” —Helen Humphreys, author of Followed by the Lark
“Stunning . . . offers nature writing at its finest. At its heart, How to Survive a Bear Attack is an unforgettable story about finding the courage to face even the wildest of natures within and around us all.” —Winnipeg Free Press
“In a masterful fusion of forensic journalism, nature reporting and memoir, Claire Cameron’s account of a deadly incident explores mortality and the consciousness of the wild. How to Survive a Bear Attack paddles readers through Algonquin Park rivers and into the halls of medicine, asking them to be brave and inquisitive in order to survive the unexpected.” —Governor General’s Literary Award peer assessment committee (Kevin Chong, Norma Dunning and Adrienne Gruber)
“This powerful book asks how we can reconcile the inherent beauty and catharsis of nature with its omnificent, sometimes-frightening power. Readers are offered a moving contemplation of wilderness, survival, and the dangers that lurk unseen within and outside ourselves. The narrative also serves as a compassionate and heartbreaking portrait of an iconic Canadian species.” —NUVO Magazine
“A brave book.” —Literary Review of Canada
“If you’re drawn to memoirs that explore resilience, the human connection to nature, and the struggle to reconcile past trauma with the present, How to Survive a Bear Attack is a must-read. This memoir is a very personal journey of grief, survival, and obsession. What makes it especially compelling is Cameron’s ability to weave together themes of survival—both personal and in the face of nature’s unpredictability. . . . This memoir is for anyone who enjoys deeply human stories that are raw, honest, and ultimately hopeful.” —St. Albert Gazette
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