I Could Have Used A Better Map: An Alaskan Memoir And Beyond

by John Benck, Cristina Woolley (Illustrator), Jessica Strang (Editor)

I Could Have used A better Map is a very honest recounting of not only my initial going to Alaska in the early 1970's, but of what happened to us in the years that followed. Many of us went to work on the first big pipeline job from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez and the changes that happened to us were profound. As the years rolled on, and our time in construction camps increased, many of our lives were turned inside out by work, drugs, relationship problems and an overall exposure to a life we probably didn't see coming very well. Not everyone survived it, but the friendships we acquired were real and I have tried to show how these held our lives together. This book is also a collaboration with my Alaskan friends, my eventual teaching friends in the states and also, quite dramatically, in El Salvador. My life, and those around me, has been an adventure to say the least and Alaska was the wheel that propelled it all. Because of Alaska I traveled almost everywhere I had dreamed of and the friendships I made in Mexico, New York, and eventually in El Salvador changed my life.To quote the surpassingly great Ken Kesey, "But it's the truth even it didn't happen." This all really happened; I'm pretty sure about that! I have read much of what has been written about those days and years and to be honest, this book is much more honest and descriptive than any of them because I was there for 27 years and I have made no attempt to sugar coat any of it. If you want to know what really went down all those years then read this book.

377 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 1, 2021