Pilgrim's Wilderness: A True Story of Faith and Madness on the Alaska Frontier, by Tom Kizzia

 

This one came out in 2012 and I just stumbled across a Facebook post I did as I was still reading. The book was chilling in that Papa Pilgrim wasn't only a real person, he lived in Alaska. He's buried in the nearby Aurora Cemetary in Wasilla. Here's my post and, fingers crossed, the comments will be there when you click into it. 

 https://www.facebook.com/june.price/posts/pfbid0JJxqbMCExbSQNhaYfRoqfxu6nDJwK5u9HhjKue5uJEGrRVh9SmKRgwFC8segD31Wl

"I'm sorta meandering through "Pilgrim's Wilderness" slowly. I realized part of it is cos the guy is so darn freaky/scary. He had a brief encounter with Charles Manson, too, about a year before the Manson murders. The author is essentially alternating between chapters on the McCarthy experience and Hale/Papa Pilgrim's earlier history, which is rather amazing, too. I'm reading it in chunks to digest it all the better, but think I'd recommend it to anyone to read. Author Tom Kissia does an excellent job pulling it all together. I need to check and see if he's on FB."

 

I'll add that in a previous post about this book, I mentioned that it said Hale/Papa Pilgrim went to school with, of all the unlikely associates, John Denver. Life is weirder than fiction sometimes.

Later post: "I just finished "Pilgrim's Wilderness" but instead of commenting further, I think I'm going to wait until some of those I've been prodding to read it have a chance to at least get into the book. I'll just say that the man creeped me out, the perfect example of how someone can take the Bible and twist it to serve your own demented wishes. Excellent book but left me chilled, if that makes sense. Too many like him out there."