If You Didn't Bring Jerky, What Did I Just Eat?: Misadventures in Hunting, Fishing, and the Wilds of Suburbia(Thorndike Laugh Lines)

For nearly a decade, Bill Heavey, an outdoorsman marooned in suburbia, has written the Sportsman's Life column on the back page of Field & Stream, where he does for hunting and fishing what David Feherty does for golf and Lewis Grizzard did for the South. His work is adored by readers--one proclaims him the greatest sportswriter who has ever walked the planet, and another recently wrote in to nominate him for president of the United States in 2008--and his peers have recognized his work with two prestigious National Magazine Award nominations. If You Didn't Bring Jerky, What Did I Just Eat? is the first collection of Heavey's sidesplitting observations on life as a hardcore (but often hapless) outdoorsman. Whether he's hunting cougars in the southwest desert, scheming to make his five-year-old daughter fall in love with fishing, or chronicling his father's slow decline through the lens of the numerous dogs he's owned over seventy-five years, Heavey is a master at blending humor and pathos--and wide-ranging outdoor enthusiasms that run the gamut from elite to ordinary--into a poignant and potent cocktail. His advice for men on how to survive a midlife crisis? Skip your birthday party to go fishing with a friend. Child care woes? Don't hire a sitter when your daughter can enjoy the fresh air and improve your hunt by learning to drive deer past your stand. Worried that Disney cartoons are giving kids a sugar-coated view of the natural world? Pop in a hunting DVD (Whitetail Madness 5 works like a charm). Funny, warmhearted, and supremely entertaining, this book is an irresistible addition to the literature of the outdoors.

Review :
"A sense of humor is one of the most important traits in a good hunter. Yes, it's important to know how to construct a wigwam from toothpicks, but it's more important to laugh. Bill Heavey seems to understand this better than most. His 'Path to Enlightenment' was one of the funniest and truest stories I have ever read. Thank you, from a young father who is waiting for the day his daughter is old enough to explore the woods." "As a mother of three who lives in the 'burbs, I need all the comedy I can get. I fight my boys and husband to be the first to get the magazine so I can flip to the last page. Know that you are promoting good mental health in millions." "It's not often that, in one page, a writer can lead a reader on a roller coaster of emotions. Heavey [does] just that with his back page. He had me rolling on the floor at the beginning and wiping a tear from my eye by the end." "Regular readers know Bill Heavey is one of the best humor writers working today. But with 'Dog Years' it is clear he is one of our best writers, period. What a joy it is to see how he uses the language."