The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival (Vintage Departures)

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Regarding Russian history in understanding human impact, you will see the conflicts and contradictions of heavy handed human ecosystem destruction hand in hand with conservation measures. A battle in itself with our blind weedy species weighing ever more on one end of the teeter-totter. To paraphrase Dostoevski in Notes from the Underground; no one can live without being able to explain to themselves what is happening to them, and if one day they should no longer be able to explain anything to themselves, they would say they had gone mad, and this would be for them the last explanation left.

Part natural history, part Russian history and part thriller; it tells a gripping and gory story of what it's like to stalk - and be stalked by - the largest species of cat still walking the Earth. Vancouver-based American author John Vaillant’s non-fiction book The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival (2010) tells the true story of a man eating tiger that killed many people in Russia. Alongside the story about this tiger, he also talks about the history of his region as well as how science has tried to deal with it. He also talks about environmental issues which threaten these animals’ existence.

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There are four components of trauma that will always be present to some degree in any traumatized person: 1. hyperarousal 2. constriction 3. dissociation 4. freezing (immobility), associated with the feeling of helplessness. Together, these components form the core of the traumatic reaction. They are the first to appear when a traumatic event occurs. As with literally any subject involving human emotion, there are very few clear answers and if someone offers a simple solution to any deeply complex emotional problem, the solution is usually only partially helpful under very particular circumstances. Tigers, like sharks, are solitary hunters existing from one kill to the next—exercising abstract thinking in the process.

It sounds like the teaser for a trashy thriller but this story really happened. The Tiger is the story of a rogue tiger and it's man-eating ways. After he has left, Sophie’s mummy notices what a mess there is, and oh dear, Sophie can’t have her bath either because there is not a drop of water left! Sophie’s daddy comes home and they both explain that there is no food because a tiger had eaten it all. Not to worry, daddy says, they can all go out and have a meal in a cafe. Like its majestic and terrifying subject, John Vaillant's book moves with subtlety and grace, commands a vast terrain - and has the power to shake the observer's soul . . . What unfolds, in a richly layered story that partners cunning with sublimity, is a tragedy in several acts and with multiple dimensions . . . The Tiger also counts as a supreme example of true-crime writing driven by wide-angle empathy and compassion. Some readers may choose to shelve it, not among cosy wildlife yarns, but with Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. The suggestion that community played a role in healing trauma and that trauma is a natural reaction to bad experiences is also a important element. That a physical connection/grounding plays a role in restoring a wandering spirit (a shamanic image) is interesting. Mostly, I tend agree with Levine, looking at the trauma directly and reliving it is at best not helpful (his clinical practice strongly affirmed this view), at worst, only making matters worse.Peter is the author of the best selling book Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma, (published in twenty languages) as well as four audio learning series for Sounds True including the book CD, Healing Trauma, a Pioneering Program in Restoring the Wisdom of Our Bodies; and Sexual Healing, Transforming the Sacred Wound. He is the co-author of Trauma through a Child’s Eyes, Awakening the Ordinary Miracle of Healing, and Trauma-Proofing Your Kids, A Parents Guide for Instilling Confidence, Joy and Resilience. Most recently, he has published In An Unspoken Voice, How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness. By regularly bringing down large prey like elk, moose, boar, and deer, the tiger feeds countless smaller animals, birds, and insects, not to mention the soil. Every such event sends another pulse of lifeblood through the body of the forest." An unbelievable tale, expertly told, with a few paragraphs that I would give my eye teeth to have written.