The Adventurer’s Son audiobook

Audiobook....read by Fred Sanders ( an excellent narrator)....easy connecting to his voice, clear and very precise. Much about this book appealed to me.....and ‘not’ just the ‘grab-ya-by-the-throat’, book blurb, either....“I’m planning on doing four days in the jungle... It should be difficult to get lost forever: These were the haunting last words legendary adventurer Roman Dial received from his son, before the 27 year old disappeared into the jungles of Costa Rica”. I already knew the general ending to the mystery as to what happened to Roman’s son. I felt I understood the mixed/negative criticism, before I started this book. Negative reviews said things like: the father was too self absorbed in himself, ( not my experience), and the book was too long with irrelevant stories. I still wanted to read it. The positive reviews moved me. I was willing to go into this book contemplating the praise and criticism ....wanting to draw my own conclusions. So....I conclude: I LOVED the INTIMACY of the storytelling ( right away).I enjoyed the journey...( becomes heartbreaking)....but it was also another one of those self-reflecting books where we take measure of thyself...(on an array of subjects: our families, marriage, births, education, arts, nature, adventures, our successes and failures, and.....once again [seems to be a theme in my reading lately].....on not only parenting .....but the parent/adult child relationship. I absolutely love what one reviewer said....( by Jamie L. Harmon)....“The message of this tale is that no matter how we try to assume involvement or responsibility in certain devastating events, the truth is ultimately revealed: each person walks his or her unique path from beginning to end. The arc of a life is a toss of a cosmic loom, weaving the fabric of reality. An incredible story: compelling and moving”.Thank you Jamie L Harmon >>> AMEN!!!Other tidbits. I enjoyed the ‘irreverent’? stories.........like how PhD programs are poorly paid...( who could raise a family on that salary?)..........LOVED THE FAMILY... I was interested in all of them: Roman, his wife Peggy, and the adventures with their children. I enjoyed learning about each of the family members idiosyncrasies. .... Oh, and the descriptions of the outdoor nature adventures amazing...birds, monkeys, bugs, the jungle, and everything wilderness. .....I was deeply moved by the humanity and a father’s love for his son. It’s fair to make comparisons with this book and Jon Krakauer’s “Into the Wild”. Both books are unforgettable stories of family, adventures, tragedy, and love Wonderful as an Audiobook!

Roman " Cody" Dial grew up in a family that loved adventure. He often accompanied his father on hiking trips and exploring.When Roman "Cody" was twenty seven he wanted to explore the jungles of Costa Rica. July 2014 he started out. He told his family that he planed to go through the Jungle in four days and be out on the fifth day.There's a saying " when in Rome do as the Romans do."Cody had lots of confidence so he forged ahead not following the rules of the National Forest in Costa Rica . You had to have a guide and stay on the designated trails.After a week had passed his family had not heard from him. They were so worried. Was he kidnapped? Was there foul play? Did some one kill him? Who had seen him?With all unanswered questions, his father went to Costa Rica to look for his son.All their efforts were fruitless. When his remains were found everything was intact...no foul play. It was assumed a tree fell on him or he was bitten by a poisonous snake.A very sad and poignant story.

I easily give this book five stars. It is an amazing book. The adventurous life described in this book, of both the father and son, was made a fascinating read. I loved the colorful descriptions of life in the wilderness. Their relationship described was heartwarming. My heart broke for the father in his search for his missing son. But, he never gave up until he got his answer. It's a memoir I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a good read.

This is a Goodreads win review. This is the most awesome, heartfelt book I Have read in a long time. The author was always out climbing, and rafting, and doing backcountry races and he got high degrees in College. He traveled to other countries and his kids loved all the same things. His son went on an adventure to the jungles and off paths in Costa Rica and then they did not hear from him again. They searched for him and after a long while found the remains of his body. They think he died from either a tree falling on his camp or a snakebite. What was great about this book was the great detail in the story about all their traveling. Also at the end the author had to wrestle with his great grief thinking if he did not raise his son to be so adventourous maybe he would still be alive. Only time can heal these wounds. Wonderful book.

This book was a pleasant, though melancholy surprise. I came across it by chance, and am always tempted to reach for books about adventurers doing things or going places I may never do or see myself. The Adventurer's Son was no ordinary travelogue, though. It tells the true story of Roman Dial and his family, in particular his son, Cody, who took on his father's love for exploration. It is no spoiler to say, this book deals with tremendous personal tragedy for the Dial family and must have been hard to write, though perhaps somewhat therapeutic as well. It was certainly hard to read. That being said, I am glad I did and it's a story I won't be quick to forget.Find my book reviews and more at http://www.princessandpen.com

The Adventurer’s Son is the heart wrenching memoir of famed adventurer Roman Dial as he desperately tries to find his son, missing in the jungle of Costa Rica. Cody Roman Dial, like his father, was an intrepid adventurer, a scientist enthralled by the wonders of the natural world. He was 27 years old when he sent his last email home telling of his plan to hike a famously difficult and dangerous trail through the Costa Rican jungle. As soon as Roman realized his son was overdue, he flew to Costa Rica to look for him. The search took two years as he fought the jungle, various bureaucracies and a web of innuendo and rumor. It seemed quite possible that this was a life that terminated in murder, but where was the body? There was innuendo that Cody’s disappearance was a consequence of involvement with drug smuggling, something totally at odds with the family's perception of their son, but leading them to doubt that they really knew him. After two years, the mystery was solved, Cody Roman Dial's body was found and he had most likely died when a large tree fell on him or he was bitten by a poisonous snake. He hadn’t fallen in with unscrupulous criminals nor had he been caught in some part of the drug trade. What is true is that the jungle is dangerous. A blameless tree or a snake took his life, a life he embraced and for which his upbringing had gloriously prepared him. Like many Alaskans, my husband had some familiarity with Roman and his extreme adventures and he followed the story. He was aware of Roman undertaking extreme trips in the Alaskan wilderness and equally extreme pack rafting adventures around the globe, including remote jungles. Until reading this poignant memoir, I was not aware that the whole family had vast experience with jungles at least as wild as those in Costa Rica.This memoir is not about a tragedy of a child desperately trying to come up to impossibly macho standards. It was a tragedy both in terms of his untimely death and the agonies of his loving family. This is a family possessing unique skills and a vast network of influential contacts, yet they were unable to save their precious son or even find him for two agonizing years. This book is a wonderful and poignant read in its own right, but I chose to augment it with the author's interview on NPR's Fresh Air, recorded on 3/3/2020. The author's own words, spoken and written, paint a picture of great love, family closeness, and enduring hope. When asked whether he would have raised his child differently knowing that great adventure would ultimately lead to his death, he answers by stating that we can never know the future. What the author feels in his spirituality is continued closeness with his son and small, connecting, close moments when his son is with him.Thanks to the author for a copy of this book. The content and opinions expressed in this review are all my own.

A book in the style of Krakauer and with just as much punch and power in the writing, this one was wrenching and gripping in spades. Detailing his son’s childhood and disappearance; we follow Roman Dial Sr as he fights judicial bodies in Costa Rica to find his son after he never returns from the jungle. This book was engaging and never faltered with the prose. It posed difficult questions and didn’t try to answer them all as some simply can’t be. The voice of honesty coming from Roman was refreshing and this was a read I won’t forget.

I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of this book. I cannot imagine how difficult it was for Roman Dial to write this book, although I can see how it might be cathartic in some way. In the age of social media, we tend to forget that there is a human element out there, and I thank the author for writing this book that not only highlights what had to be a harrowing experience, but also highlights the love a father has for his son and his family. The grief was palpable through the pages. Anytime an author puts a personal and emotional story out there for the public to judge, it has to be difficult to see it picked apart and have their experiences questioned or being told that they could tell their story differently. I think everyone should read the book and appreciate what the author has put together from his point of view, and appreciate that in an age where everyone hides behind a computer, there is a raw emotional story about familial love....read it, learn from it, and most of all appreciate it.

Sleeping in the ForestI thought the earthremembered me, shetook me back so tenderly, arranging her dark skirts, her pocketsfull of lichens and seeds. I sleptas never before, a stone on the riverbed, nothingbetween me and the white fire of the starsbut my thoughts, and they floated light as moths among the branchesof the perfect trees. All nightI heard the small kingdoms breathingaround me, the insects, and the birdswho do their work in the darkness. All nightI rose and fell, as if in water, grapplingwith a luminous doom. By morningI had vanished at least a dozen times into something better.-Mary Oliver

There are a lot of parallels between mine and Cody's (Roman) life. I travelled to Borneo and walked in its jungles as a child. I studied Biology at University. I travelled through Central and South America when I was 26/27. At that age, I never really fully considered the concern I was putting my parents through, the potential danger I was in. I too was grateful for the trust and freedom they offered me. They never tried to hold me back from the life changing experience I went through. As soon as I put this book down, I rang my parents to thank them for believing in me even when they could so clearly see the potential dangers I was walking into. I have to admit, I probably should have realised it sooner. I'm very fortunate I had the time to make up for this fact. It is clear from the insights into Roman's life, even if we were of a similar age on our long trips to Central America, he was far beyond me in his understanding of the world and the importance of his family. The impact of the loving and nurturing environment he was raised in is beyond measure. He grew to be a son that every family would be proud of. This book has reminded me that I need to be a better son for mine.

I hold it true, whate'er befall;I feel it when I sorrow most;'Tis better to have loved and lostThan never to have loved at all.-- Alfred, Lord TennysonThe Adventurer's Son is the story of a loving father's search for his adult son missing in the jungle wilderness of Costa Rica.I feel that I have a lot in common with this father, having four grown children myself and being a lover of adventures that I have often shared with them. The heartache and anguish this father experienced is something I can easily imagine and relate to. As the author pondered whether or not he had been a good father, or if he had perhaps somehow caused or contributed to the unfolding tragedy of his son, he came to realize that the time he had spent with him on their many adventures was well worth it and he wouldn't change anything: The love that I had for Roman was stronger and deeper for the time we had spent together in wild places. I would not give that up, even as I felt more helpless than ever. And while moments like this would plague me, I hold it as truth that the bonds we form in nature with others are the truest bonds between us.

I received this via a goodreads giveaway.This is the memoir of Roman Dial, an outdoorsman, an adventurer, a teacher a father. It looks back on the life Roman has provided for his children, especially his son. Throughout the book, there is a sense of foreboding doom; there is also am underlying sense of parental guilt. Do you give your child unlimited access to the natural beauty surrounding you and the danger that goes with it, or do you keep them close, smother them with love?When Roman’s 27 year-old son disappears in Costa Rico after a lone trek through dangerous terrain, Roman pulls out all stops to locate his son and learn the truth about his disappearance. I cannot imagine what the family felt over the two years it took to solve this mystery! Despite the guilt of the father, I wish I could have been a parent more like him.

I won this book through Goodreads Giveaways. I am surprised and how much I enjoyed reading this book because in April 2017 I lost my LT Navy daughter. We believe her husband is responsible. We are working on Justice. I was not sad or upset reading this book. It is a wonderful, evaluation and feeling of doubt you are a good parent when you lose a child. Why didn't we take better care of our daughter, why didn't we get her away from him? Just like Roman and Peggy. I am glad they are closer to Jazz now. Like we are closer to our 2 other daughters. Could they have made a difference? Full of questions with no answers will always be. I would never do most of what they did in their travels and adventures but they should never regret doing them. The world, seeing the world. ABSOLUTELY worth every word of reading!