Library Journal - Audio
03/01/2022
Expanding on his 2018 article in Outside magazine, Rustad draws listeners into the restless life and unsolved disappearance of a singular individual. A high school dropout but graduate of two wilderness survival schools, Justin Alexander Shetler initially seems somewhat naive and unaware of the privilege that let him wander off the beaten path into online fame as an adventure traveler. Rustad gradually reveals a different person, acknowledging the generous, charismatic friend whom those closest to him recall, and probing the evidence of his complex motivations for increasingly dangerous, ultimately fatal, boundary-pushing. Though Rustad's steady narration conflicts with the pace of Alexander's lifestyle and doesn't suit the bloodcurdling account of Parvati Valley's many other lost travelers that moves this biography into the realm of true crime, the author's clear investment in this case and firsthand experience as a foreign visitor to India add appeal to his reading. VERDICT This meticulously researched, sympathetically narrated audiobook will appeal to listeners who enjoyed Michael Finkel's The Stranger in the Woods, Jon Billman's The Cold Vanish, or Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild.—Lauren Kage
Publishers Weekly
★ 10/11/2021
Journalist Rustad (Big Lonely Doug) crafts a haunting narrative of the life of Justin Alexander Shetler, an American backpacker who disappeared in the Indian Himalayas in 2016. A trained survivalist who’d traveled extensively, Shetler vanished while on a trip through India’s remote Parvati Valley. Though it’s renowned for its natural beauty, Rustad writes that Parvati (often called India’s “backpacker Bermuda Triangle”) is also known for its dangerous terrain where dozens have gone missing. Pulling from hundreds of interviews and his own travels to where Shetler was last seen, Rustad draws readers into a tale of adventure and tragedy that, despite its dark outcome, is illuminated with a remarkable sense of humanity. He paints a moving portrait of Shetler, a young man in love with the wilderness who was animated by a daring spirit (“When my greater fear told me no, Justin would just go for something,” one friend recalls). But even in recounting Shetler’s remarkable journeys, Rustad never veers into hagiography, taking time to reflect upon Shelter’s mental health struggles after having being sexually abused as a boy and teen, and how his friends were worried his disappearance may have been a suicide. Equal parts tribute and travelogue, this is sure to enthrall those curious about a life lived to the extreme. Agent: Stuart Krichevsky, Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency. (Jan.)
From the Publisher
"Justin Alexander Shetler went to India in search of adventure and authenticity and never came back. Was his disappearance the result of a crime, an accident, or a profound spiritual transformation? This mystery beats at the heart of Harley Rustad’s gripping and propulsive book, which is part travelogue, part pilgrim’s quest, part detective story. The result is the classic hero’s journey updated for a hectic, hyperconnected world: think The Lost City of Z meets Eat Pray Love, only set in the Himalayas in the age of hashtags." — Kate Harris, author of Lands of Lost Borders
"....leaves you with a sense of wonder and a sense of unease. It’s a book that is not easy to put down." — New York Journal of Books
"Fascinating....In prose that moves like a clear river.... Rustad has done what the best storytellers do: tried to track the story to its last twig and then stepped aside." — New York Times Book Review
"....a nuanced and gripping account....the latest in a rich seam of travel writing that captures the curiosity and hubris of the planet’s most restless souls." — Financial Times
"Rustad does extensive research, including hundreds of interviews with those who knew Shetler, and undertakes his own journey to India, where he finds the cave in which Shetler spent his last days. The tale he tells is both a portrait of this complex, driven seeker, but also a cautionary story about the potential dangers visitors to India face on the path to spiritual enlightenment." — San Francisco Chronicle
"Rustad’s gripping investigation of Shetler’s life showcases a late-model brand of very online enlightenment seeker. Think: flowing clothing, lots of meditation and shirtless pics captioned with inspirational platitudes. But there’s more to Shetler than such cliches might suggest — and more to this story than an ad hoc vision quest gone wrong." — Washington Post
“A compelling read and a fascinating story, which Harley Rustad tells with great flair and even greater compassion. The parade of parents with kids gone-missing in India's Parvati Valley moved in parallel to my own plight—each of us facing the same suite of bewildering possibilities, from natural death to foul play to a new life.” — Roman Dial, author of The Adventurer’s Son
“Haunting… a moving portrait…. Rustad draws readers into a tale of adventure and tragedy that, despite its dark outcome, is illuminated with a remarkable sense of humanity…. Equal parts tribute and travelogue, this is sure to enthrall those curious about a life lived to the extreme.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review
“One of the most haunting books of recent times. Through spellbinding story-telling, drawn from impeccable research, Harley Rustad takes us not only into the evergreen story of a young man in search of his better self, but into the mystical pull of India, the latter-day community of global pilgrims, and the casualties found along the way. This is Somerset Maugham’s classic Razor’s Edge updated to the Age of Instagram." — Pico Iyer, author of The Art of Stillness and The Open Road
“Rustad's portrait of Shetler and the land in which his life ended is remarkably well-crafted and captivating, a powerful addition to the literature of quests and wilderness exploration.” — Booklist
“In Justin Alexander Shetler, Harley Rustad has found a character equal parts Shantaram and Into the Wild’s Christopher McCandless, only with the media savvy of Anthony Bourdain and the soulful charisma of Bruce Chatwin. It is hard to imagine anyone able to illuminate this haunted, driven, marvelously complex person as richly and thoroughly as Rustad has done here.” — John Vaillant, author of The Tiger and The Golden Spruce
"Rustad proves himself here to be a masterful storyteller, unfolding character, plot, suspense, pathos, bathos and half a dozen other Greek nouns so meticulously that you’re not going to want to put this book down." — Toronto Star
“A mysterious tale of a spiritual seeker, a survivalist on a motorcycle pilgrimage through the Himalayas, who places his trust in a sadhu, only to disappear like honey on a razor’s edge. A wonderful book.” — Wade Davis, author of Magdalena and Into the Silence
"Fascinating." — Kirkus Reviews
"The cautionary and haunting tale of Justin Alexander Shetler—who vanished in 'India's backpacker Bermuda Triangle' in 2016—raises compelling questions about the limits of spiritual seeking." — Shelf Awareness
"Under Rustad’s watch, Shetler is a compelling, complex character: a man simultaneously craving solitude and validation — always searching, in the digital and real worlds alike." — Sharp Magazine (Canada)
"Engaging, compassionate....nuanced, rather than salacious.... Rustad is as interested in exploring India’s enduring hold on the Western imagination, from Marco Polo to the hippie trail of the seventies to the present day." — Globe and Mail (Toronto)
"A wonderful read, this is compelling story with a message in it for all explorers: don’t lose yourself while finding your soul....a gripping tale that reads like a detective novel." — The Explorers Journal
"Rustad crafts the narrative masterfully...." — Outlook (India)
Pico Iyer
One of the most haunting books of recent times. Through spellbinding story-telling, drawn from impeccable research, Harley Rustad takes us not only into the evergreen story of a young man in search of his better self, but into the mystical pull of India, the latter-day community of global pilgrims, and the casualties found along the way. This is Somerset Maugham’s classic Razor’s Edge updated to the Age of Instagram."
New York Times Book Review
"Fascinating....In prose that moves like a clear river.... Rustad has done what the best storytellers do: tried to track the story to its last twig and then stepped aside."
Financial Times
"....a nuanced and gripping account....the latest in a rich seam of travel writing that captures the curiosity and hubris of the planet’s most restless souls."
Booklist
Rustad's portrait of Shetler and the land in which his life ended is remarkably well-crafted and captivating, a powerful addition to the literature of quests and wilderness exploration.
Roman Dial
A compelling read and a fascinating story, which Harley Rustad tells with great flair and even greater compassion. The parade of parents with kids gone-missing in India's Parvati Valley moved in parallel to my own plight—each of us facing the same suite of bewildering possibilities, from natural death to foul play to a new life.”
Kate Harris
"Justin Alexander Shetler went to India in search of adventure and authenticity and never came back. Was his disappearance the result of a crime, an accident, or a profound spiritual transformation? This mystery beats at the heart of Harley Rustad’s gripping and propulsive book, which is part travelogue, part pilgrim’s quest, part detective story. The result is the classic hero’s journey updated for a hectic, hyperconnected world: think The Lost City of Z meets Eat Pray Love, only set in the Himalayas in the age of hashtags."
San Francisco Chronicle
"Rustad does extensive research, including hundreds of interviews with those who knew Shetler, and undertakes his own journey to India, where he finds the cave in which Shetler spent his last days. The tale he tells is both a portrait of this complex, driven seeker, but also a cautionary story about the potential dangers visitors to India face on the path to spiritual enlightenment."
New York Journal of Books
"....leaves you with a sense of wonder and a sense of unease. It’s a book that is not easy to put down."
John Vaillant
In Justin Alexander Shetler, Harley Rustad has found a character equal parts Shantaram and Into the Wild’s Christopher McCandless, only with the media savvy of Anthony Bourdain and the soulful charisma of Bruce Chatwin. It is hard to imagine anyone able to illuminate this haunted, driven, marvelously complex person as richly and thoroughly as Rustad has done here.”
Toronto Star
"Rustad proves himself here to be a masterful storyteller, unfolding character, plot, suspense, pathos, bathos and half a dozen other Greek nouns so meticulously that you’re not going to want to put this book down."
Booklist
Rustad's portrait of Shetler and the land in which his life ended is remarkably well-crafted and captivating, a powerful addition to the literature of quests and wilderness exploration.
Financial Times
"....a nuanced and gripping account....the latest in a rich seam of travel writing that captures the curiosity and hubris of the planet’s most restless souls."
Wade Davis
A mysterious tale of a spiritual seeker, a survivalist on a motorcycle pilgrimage through the Himalayas, who places his trust in a sadhu, only to disappear like honey on a razor’s edge. A wonderful book.
Shelf Awareness
"The cautionary and haunting tale of Justin Alexander Shetler—who vanished in 'India's backpacker Bermuda Triangle' in 2016—raises compelling questions about the limits of spiritual seeking."
Kirkus Reviews
2021-10-02
The tale of an experienced world trekker who disappeared during a spiritual quest in the Himalayas.
A well-trained American survivalist who had created a kind of cult following on social media through his arduous pursuits in the wild, Justin Alexander Shetler was just 35 when he vanished in the Parvati Valley in the late summer of 2016. Journalist Rustad has extensively interviewed those involved in Shetler’s life’s tale and disappearance. At the time, he was trekking to Mantalai Lake, “a holy site associated with Shiva” and “a manifestation of the divine,” with a sadhu, or holy man, before taking off on his own. The author underscores the dangerous lure of this part of the world, nicknamed the Valley of Shadows or the Valley of Death. “Since the early 1990s,” he writes, “dozens of international backpackers have vanished without a trace while traveling in and around the Parvati Valley, an average of one every year, earning this tiny, remote sliver of the subcontinent a dark reputation as India’s backpacker Bermuda Triangle.” Shetler was born in Florida and “raised in a religiously fluid and open household,” but after his parents divorced, he moved to Montana briefly and then to a small town outside Portland, Oregon. He was fascinated by the wilderness from an early age, and he trained as a tracker at the Wilderness Awareness School. He became disenchanted by Western materialism and yearned for a more authentic life, and he seemed to constantly have to challenge and reinvent himself, as his blogs revealed. Rustad does a good job probing Shetler’s motives, similar to those of many other Western adventurers. Was his disappearance an accident or the result of foul play by robbers and drug runners? Or did Shetler intend to escape his life and drop off the grid? There’s no definitive answer, but the journey is fascinating and well rendered.
A thorough, journalistic exploration of the mindset of a seeker on a visionary quest.
