Book clubs, discussion groups and individual readers are talking about Uncharted: A Journey Along the Edge of Time and Survival. If you want to contribute to the discussion, please leave your comments at the bottom of this page to join this dynamic exchange. Read on for the comments of other readers who have contributed thoughts, impressions and ideas about this inspiring book.
“I started reading your amazing book last night. By Chapter 2 I was getting goose bumps! Seriously. I can already tell this is going to be one of those books I will read more than once. Rare for me.”
J.B.
Boise, Idaho
“The book is indescribable. I can’t put it down. I am totally in love with the writing style and believe this book will win many awards!”
Priscilla Marden
Jackson, Wyoming
“I just finished your book, right to the very last page. It’s amazing and light tears tinge the rims of my eyes. They don’t spill, because I’m not sad, only full. Thank you for sharing your story. You are an amazing, admirable and courageous woman and writer.”
Jenn Castro
Los Gatos, California
“I CANNOT put down Uncharted. I’m about 3/4 through reading it. First, let me say congratulations on getting this story on the page. And, I am really enjoying the way you say things, putting sentences together in unconventional ways. My inner English teacher won’t allow me to play like that, but I think it works so well in the way you are telling your story. I am truly riveted. You are so brave to write all this down, and I have to say that though I can relate to some of the things that happen to a young girl in a messed up household, my story is a lot tamer and more boring than yours is! You have done such a great job seeing through the events to the meaning underneath, not just for yourself but for anyone—all those ties and connections, wow. That is the hard work I think, seeing what is there beyond the surface.”
S.M.
Jackson, Wyoming
“I finished Uncharted last night. I really couldn’t put it down! Thanks for sharing … what an amazing journey. For more than 20 years (and before it was really popular), I was in a book group. Unfortunately we phased out! I would love to discuss this book! Powerful!!”
Jamie Carrier
Loveland, Colorado
“I am impressed by the detail you brought to the story, the specificity of your memories … I kept the atlas close by, following your travels. I was impressed with your strength, your autonomous commitment to your inner life via dream work; your love and trust of nature, inside and out; your Wyoming spirit, moment-to-moment awareness, sense of justice, and robust search for meaning. I found myself excited by your journey myself, and your persistence in the face of loss and trauma. And I wonder where the next adventure lies for you, both interpersonally and intra-psychically.”
S.J.
Jackson, Wyoming
“5 stars for this engaging, heart-stopping and spirit-uplifting book. The language is crisp and enticing, the story compelling.”
Colleen C.
San Jose, California
“The story is powerful and hopeful. I believe it will serve those who read it who want to find their way to the other side of pain and confusion. Whether that resembles your journey or not does not matter as much as the message that we each have a path through if we are willing to face our demons and have the courage to persevere and keep love close. The dreams are presented beautifully and should encourage anyone to heed the visits of the night.”
K.B.
Loveland, Colorado
“Your writing and life epitomize Hemingway: “We are all broken and many are stronger at the broken places.” I have found few writers so able to transmute the basest metal into gold!”
Robert Foster
Adjunct professor of Speech Communications, North St. Paul, Minnesota
Michelle says
Thank you Cate, bravo!
Jayne Ottman says
Her liquid and dreamy style of describing the beautiful is extraordinary. What struck me the most was her steadfast courage to navigate her troubled world without parental anchors or a personal compass. Yet she found her north star in extraordinary ways through dream work and a raw connection to wild places. Realizing that one must be rooted in the undersides of light in order to bloom is remarkable for any person, let alone a young woman. A stunning journey. A lesson for humanity.
Jayne Ottman RN MS Integrated Health Choices Jackson, Wyoming
Thomas O'Brien says
I wonder if the Robert Foster that is listed is the same Robert Foster I had as a senior in high school.
Martha says
I love memoirs and picked up “Uncharted” expecting it to be interesting and inspirational, but was surprised to find that it’s also a page-turner. I couldn’t put it down! What an exciting life Cabot has led. It’s inspiring to see how she has kept her adventurous spirit in spite of some bad breaks and some truly awful just plain bad luck. Her resourcefulness and determination to stay true to her spiritual needs and goals over a lifetime of trouble has strengthened my resolve to continue on my own rather unconventional path.
I’m waiting to see the movie — Cabot’s story would make a terrific one!
Martha in Marfa, Texas
February 2015
Jerry Biggie says
I have just completed Cate Cabot’s book Uncharted: A Journey Along the Edge of Time and Survival for the 2nd time. From the last page back to the first and right back through to the end. (I’ve only done that once before, with the book “The Tale of Kieu”, Vietnam’s epic national poem). In her book, Cate takes us on her life-long spiritual quest for peace and answers about her life experiences. This is a brave journey and not one to be taken by the faint of heart. The depths to which Cate goes to understand the situations and meaning about her life is not something most people, including myself, would have the courage to undertake. Her range of visions and dream interpretations and life’s decisions based on those experiences and on those visions is truly amazing. Coupled with a unique prose style, Uncharted: A Journey Along the Edge of Time and Survival is a force of nature much like the spirits she has spent so much time with. Highly recommend.
Jerry Biggie
February 26, 2015
Idaho
James Mathieu says
Cate takes her readers on a biographical journey through parallel time that makes you want to fall in love for all the best reasons. Measured and inspired, “Uncharted” is a companion you will travel with for a long time.
James Mathieu
2 March 2015
Jackson, Wyoming
Lisa Morgan says
Uncharted is a gripping, telling story of a young woman navigating her way through a rougher than needed life. It is a testament to finding one’s voice, seeing the threads of good and accessing true self from a very young age – maybe not even reached by many in a lifetime! Cate writes as though she has written all her life, with skill, ease and detail that is necessary. Thank you for delving into the stories and for the difficulty … and joy of reading about them.
Lisa Morgan
Fort Collins, Colorado February 28, .2015
Nancy B. says
Cate Cabot writes with fearless honesty as she tells her story of a dangerous journey through this world, wandering as a young girl through time and space to the present, with few beacons to guide her. She tells of the veracity of injury and death while refusing to surrender to it, even when she is very close. There are times I wanted to put the book away. The painful realities of abuse and hatred require great strength and wisdom to overcome. Yet Cate’s poetic, compassionate prose leads us through dark valleys and painful recognition, while finding a way to healing and joy.
Nancy B. January 27, 2015
Linda Griggs says
This is not an easy read. It’s full of taboo subjects and extremely difficult life challenges. The wildly lyrical style and frequent flashbacks require close attention. But it is an intelligent, honest, sensitive, brave, and above all, healing read that I would recommend to anyone who is ready to deep dive (and ultimately heal) their own wounds.
I didn’t know Cate before reading her book. But after reading it, I feel like I know her better than I know many people in my life. She’s managed to tell her very personal, very challenging story in a way that never takes refuge in victimhood. She is a gifted writer and an extraordinarily insightful survivor.
Linda Griggs
Grand Rapids, Michigan
25 January 2015
Mary Ellen McNaughton says
Cate Cabot’s book Uncharted is one not soon if ever forgotten. Recommended by a friend who knows I appreciate the Jungian perspective and intuitive ways, I began to read and found myself feeling along with the author through her traumatic incidences, some of which echoed those of my own. I waded in slowly, cautiously, before fully swimming in her story. Not light hearted but deep hearted, this book reveals the brave reckonings of an aware, awake person, written in a creative, unique, gripping and detailed style. The take-away is that the reader is given a living example of courage and wisdom-working we can all be inspired to follow for our own journeying.
Mary Ellen McNaughton
January 25, 2015
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Nancy S. says
Reading Cate Cabot is like standing under a waterfall … I was immersed in this story start to finish. It put me through my paces, devastating and uplifting in cycles, over and over again … I recommend it to women and men everywhere. It offers insight and inspiration into issues bearing down on our youth, women and, honestly, people of all ages in our current times.
Nancy S. Ashland, Oregon February 27, 2015
Robert Foster says
William Butler Yeats’s poem “Crazy Jane Talks with the Bishop” ends with these words: “For nothing can be sole or whole/That has not been rent.”
The Miracle of Cate Cabot’s memoir “Uncharted” lies both in what has been rent and what has been made sole and whole. As a professor of speech, I found two themes of wholeness compelling.
The first wholeness is in the person of Cate, whom I have not seen in 44 years but who I believe is sitting next to me. Both her memoir and her exchanges by email speak, or rather sing, of someone who has been broken in ways I have only read of. Whether through reading Jung and other philosophers or listening to chthonic voices, Cate has found reconciliation and peace. Where others would “rage against the dying of the light”, to quote Dylan Thomas, Cate finds a serenity to light her way and ours.
The second wholeness is in her writing style. Much of what she has experienced is fragmented,, broken into shards; the writing is visceral, immediate. She hitchhikes, is raped, watches a woman be shot to death in a bar, loses a son to toxoplasmosis, and finds solace in special places and moments in time. Much of the writing is breathless, but through it all she melds what Yeats called “passion and precision” into unity. The reader cannot stay uninvolved.
Robert Foster, Saint Paul, Minnesota
February 27, 2015
Caryn Flanagan says
For Cate: What an amazing journey you took me on, and I’m truly humbled by your enlightened reaction to all you’ve experienced. Thank you for opening your heart and sharing your story. Congratulations on a beautiful book. Excellent!
C. Flanagan
22 January 2015
Susan Driggers says
Cate’s book is a compelling journey into inner awareness. Her use of words and writing style kept me captivated and wanting to know “what’s next”. Although the story is at times tragic and difficult to read in terms of her emotional struggles, it is one of hope and triumph. It also inspires the reader to look more closely at one’s own patterns, and how those are affecting one’s life. I was certainly intrigued by Cate’s special abilities to remember her dreams so vividly and her intuitive sensitivity.
Susan Driggers 22 January 2015
Sandy Leotta says
Cate Cabot’s unique use of words surprise and charm as they paint the inner landscape of the mind and spirit, leaving much room for thought about our own inner landscapes.
Sandy Leotta
December 28, 2014
Shawn M. says
As I am a very visual person, your book has inspired some mighty vivid dreams (not necessarily about your experiences and thoughts). I thought about the reading and found myself wondering how I would react to hearing your memories read aloud – those visceral and strong written words vocalized. Some of the book sucker punched me deep in my belly. Some of your words lay across my lap like glitter. Some I have been considering since I finished.
Wanted to thank you for writing and publishing, and for saying things aloud on your upcoming tour.
Shawn M. 26 February 2015
Priscilla Marden says
This is a book with guts and a soul, bloody fangs and angel’s wings – a map into the depths of shocking truths and the shameless awareness of our own raw and sacred power.
The writing is visceral. It pulls you into a part of human awareness that is well beyond words, yet the author’s craft is the perfect vehicle for transport. Many times the reader has to step back and remind him/herself that Cate Cabot lived to tell this tale, and grew well beyond where most of us go in a lifetime. It is a unique and unforgettable study in perception and sense-making, illuminated by one of the most courageous women of our time. This story proves that we have strengths and skills that can be tapped for resurrection even in the darkest experiences. There is a light – a warm and enlightening one – at the end of this journey that gives hope and encouragement to those whose lives run on a similar track. Be brave and treat yourself to an engrossing read.
Priscilla Marden Horse Warriors, 18 March 2015
Rosie Ratigan says
Cate Cabot took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions as I read the riveting story of her life in her book Uncharted. Her courage and spirit for life carried her through many horrifying and challenging experiences. At times extremely difficult to fathom what she went through and that she survived these harrowing events. The raw emotions of her pain comes through and at times I wondered how she managed to unearth these sad and scary stories from her life. Always the fighter and brilliant in her choice of words, Cate Cabot, has done an amazing job with her book Uncharted.
Rosie Ratigan
March 2015
Lynn Hammond says
A stunning tribute to the power of love. Deeply brilliant.
Lynn Hammond Wilson, Wyoming
March 15, 2015
Patty Wager says
I found Cate Cabot’s book “Uncharted” a very compelling book about a strong woman surviving some horrific experiences and finding insight into herself past and present to help her deal with these traumatic times. I don’t read many books but Cate’s “Uncharted” kept me reading page after page to see what happened next — being overwhelmed at times by her story. Highly recommended read.
Patty Wager 16 March 2015
Shawn Smith says
Uncharted takes you on a sensation-filled journey with powerful revelations. Cabot’s prismatic language compels you to unfold, alongside her, life happenings and their meanings.
Shawn Smith
16 March 2015
Sidney Gates says
Cate writes with raw emotion that draws the reader in so that while you are feeling her pain, you are also experiencing a euphoria each time she overcomes challenges. The book inspires one to never give up and instead learn from life’s many lessons.
Having known Cate when she was in Denver over 40 years ago, I was thrilled to reconnect and discover a young girl turned into an incredible woman, capitalizing on the many talents I knew she had then and letting her light shine for others by writing this inspiring book.
Sidney Gates
Denver, Colorado
22 March 2015
Francie Aramovich says
A compelling read. I wondered if I could come through these experiences with the same grace, forgiveness and love that Cabot did. This is a road map for anyone who shares a fundamental love of humanity and desires an awareness to remain there. Cabot’s writing style strums the heartstrings. I cannot wait for another publication!
Francie Aramovich Evergreen, Colorado March 23, 2015
Karen Sloan says
Many of Cate’s youthful experiences gyrated beyond her control, and to save herself she ultimately called up the rare sensibilities she possessed and reset her gyrocompass. That she eventually found true north is a testament to her bravery, and her compelling story might move the reader to explore his or her own magnetic field in search of a position of greater stability. “Uncharted” is her brave journey.
Karen Sloan
25 March 2015
Jenny Romero says
Uncharted is a beautifully written book about survival. It’s about understanding where you came from and freeing yourself from patterns. This is a great example of learning to love and finding the light.
Jenny Romero
Loveland, Colorado
24 March 2015
C. Burch says
“Uncharted” is haunting and riveting, but more importantly, real.
C. Burch
3 April 2015
Rosanna Mitchell says
A book that will need to be re-visited … many times. Multi layered storytelling rich with both lovely poetic passages and hard core honesty. A book to savor and read slowly, but I found I could not put it down.
Rosanna Mitchell 9 April 2015
Carly Mitchell says
Cate Cabot’s story shakes and unsettles as it takes the reader through the hurricane of cycles and patterns in the human drama many face. By the end I was left feeling grateful to be taken on her adventure. Stories like this are always of value in their reminder to navigate the terra incognito of life by trusting one’s intuition in a world that would have you ignore those subtle life saving clues. Her visceral style of writing paints a story through “felt sense” and emotion in a way that is tangible to the reader. This book is a portal into a new paradigm of storytelling.
Jane says
Uncharted is a great read! It is a memoir, a spiritual journey, a mystery, an adventure story and finally a suspenseful thriller. Every chapter takes you further into each strand of the journey until they all tie together in the outcome. It was Cate’s ability to write a suspenseful thriller that allowed me to access the spiritual journey. By the book’s conclusion, I was convinced that the spiritual path Cate followed to heal herself really worked! I hope this will encourage others to read Cate’s book and to take heart from her work, that it will give others the courage to confront very painful events. This book is so compelling at many different levels.
Linda Griggs says
In regard to a course, that relates to the subject of Uncharted:
“It’s all very academic and “scholarly.” My professor herself is a very interesting person and does her best to engage the class in relevant discussion, but I think those who have written articles for the texts we’re reading are so busy proving to the male establishment that this is serious stuff, that they lose sight of the human and personal (which, of course, is your book’s strength). It’s a shame Women’s Studies classes don’t use more literary sources.”
Richard Thompson says
Uncharted is a great book. A literal journey recounted in a metaphorical one; a record of healing; a spell cast to aid in healing the reader. Cate Cabot is not only a survivor but a gifted one, and in recounting her survivor’s journey she offers a map of the uncharted territory where she was lost. We are all a little closer to found in the reading of this remarkable book.
Matt Daly says
Reading Cate Cabot’s Uncharted, I was most struck by balanced tone and maturity of understanding of the narrative voice. In a personal story with so many dramatic moments – life-threatening, tragic and transformative – the author could have easily have fallen into sensationalism. But rather than writing a “look at the terrible things that happened to ME” book, Cate Cabot has written a more universal story of how a person survives and grows by surviving. Her voice is unique and brings together a broad range of narrative strategies. At times mystical, at other times reportorial, this memoir does not construct a falsely linear narrative of triumph over tragedy. Instead, it presents the unfolding of a life in all the complex modes of consciousness through which we might perceive our experiences. In the end, I felt this book will likely be helpful to many readers who have struggled to make sense of what the world has thrown at them. What better service can a memoir have than to help its readers press on?
Jane Tight says
I drove up to the Sierras to our simple cabin on the lake by myself. As I arrived, the skies darkened, thundered and opened. I lit a fire and settled down to read Uncharted. Wow! Read until deep in the night and sleep caught me. The next morning was a “bluebird” sky and I drove up to the high pass and hiked ten miles, only passing a couple of people all day. Time to think, breathe, feel the earth. As I returned to the cabin, again (and unusually so for our area these days) the skies darkened and emptied. I grabbed Uncharted and plowed toward the end.
What a journey and what a woman… My goodness. Her story cuts deep, hits many chords for me, and yet the most powerful part is how she holds the story. It is a series of events that shape and transform. Not all survive this transformation (in this lifetime … perhaps by design?) and yet she did. Thank you for sharing this powerful book with me.
Jane Tight La Jolla, California
Barbara Gerber says
Hold onto your seat—this book is a wild ride!
Cate Cabot prefaces her book with a quote from Carl Jung: “One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light but by making the darkness conscious.” The reader must accept that there will indeed be darkness here, with no sugar-coated glossing-over of tough stuff. But we also get a book that soars with passion, wonder, beauty, and joy.
Cabot is intensely sensitive, deep-feeling, and observant—of her surroundings, of others’ emotions and motivations, of her own processes—and gives us a deep “inside” look at what she encounters and learns in her extraordinary life. “As a child, I loved the world,” Cabot writes. “I was a porous one, open with deep sensitivities. I did not know what this meant then or what it would come to mean.”
Well, what it came to mean ultimately ranged from deep joy and communion with her world to fighting for her life in terrifying, violent situations. She was nearly murdered once, has witnessed more than her share of chilling, disturbing events, and has endured tremendous loss. “Why do some of us seem chosen or destined to walk difficult pathways?” Cabot asks, adding that she has never seen herself as a victim. “Are we here to learn something, work something out or serve in some way? Why do some of us feel the world so acutely?”
Cabot’s book is not entirely a memoir but does have a narrative arc. Written entirely in the present tense, her style is at once lyrical and powerful. Consider this description of a wooded area in Wyoming: “Leaves sparkle morning and evening light dapple, court sunrise, flirt afternoon. Waters gurgle in miniature cascade, a melody transparent from gravelly depths of the river.” She constantly bends language to her own needs.
For Cabot, time also bends; it is not linear. An “inner metronome” guides her and she experiences “channels between times.” This lifetime seems to be an opportunity for her to heal the past—to face old pain and clear it.
I don’t have an answer to Cabot’s question of why some lives are harder and more perplexing than others, but I am certainly glad she explored these questions and shared her insights with us. And I‘m relieved to hear her state, “I have made it to safety.”
Barbara Gerber, author of Love and Death in a Perfect World
Lee Copenhagen, LCSW, Restorative Justice Practitioner Santa Cruz, CA says
What I value about this book is how unadulterated the author’s story is — how clean it is in presenting the realities of loss and trauma and her way through so authentically.
Lee Copenhagen, LSCW, Restorative Justice Practitioner Santa Cruz, California
Amanda Leahy, History Dept. Chair, Colorado Rocky Mountain School says
Cate Cabot writes about trauma and the movement through and beyond such pivotal experiences. For me as a teacher, her subject area alone provides relevance to students on the verge of adulthood.; Cate’s compelling writing and presence gives voice, often an empowering one, to experiences that can be left silent. Cate demonstrated the power of reflective and crafted writing in a most authentic and engaging manner.
AO Forbes, Colorado Rocky Mountain School says
I have taught for years and in many settings and to many ages. Cate has the sensitivity to present to anyone and has done the prerequisite work that allows her to make her readings powerful and timely. I enthusiastically and unequivocally endorse Cate and would encourage all to hear her speak and read from her book.
Ashley Smith, LSCW, CACH says
The often taboo subject of sexual assault was approached in a masterful way in which Cate disarmed the audience and made a space for open and honest discussion. She also addressed the issue of victim blaming, the dangers of black and white thinking about victims and perpetrators and how critical it is to follow one’s intuition. Cate left us with an appreciation for her resiliency and shared with us her reflection on her inward journey from trauma. She demonstrated to our community, to quote Cate, “how light circles back out of darkness.” We will forever be appreciative of Cate’s visit and her willingness to share such a personal journey with us.
Mark Clark, History Dept. Colorado Rocky Mountain School says
Cate’s manner in class was powerful but in no way overbearing and her listening and verbal skills are superb. It was a tremendous and enriching period for all members of the CRMS community to have her on campus.
All of my “experience” has put me in contact with many colleagues, students, parents, and folks who’ve come onto campus to help us in our professional development. It’s also helped me develop a pretty good nose for those who can connect to our community in an authentic, powerful, humble, and meaningful way. Cate Cabot’s time as Visiting Scholar (focused on her book Uncharted) during November 2015 exceeded my already high expectations. I can’t recommend her highly enough.
Nancy Hanrahan Draina, Academic Dean CRMS says
Cate connected to our teenage students by respecting their desire and ability to navigate issues of consequence. As Cate shared her story, the self-acceptance and personal growth she showed enabled students to thoughtfully approach difficult subjects she brought forth. Cate’s message is a positive one: We each have the power to choose our own path despite obstacles that feel insurmountable. Survival is about looking the beast in the eye with wisdom and forgiveness. Everyone would benefit from such an approach to life. It is essential to put survivors like Cate in front of our students.. She is a role model for approaching tragedy and life head-on.
Nathan White, English Teacher CRMS says
Cate met with students and faculty alike to share not only her personal experiences with trauma, but more importantly, her victorious battle to overcome it and not let it define her. Her impact on the students in this way was immeasurable. Her narrative was illuminating to the young women and young men of this community. Months later, her impact upon our community, and especially amongst our young people is still felt.
Cate Cabot has brilliantly exposed our society’s obsession with putting the spotlight on perpetrators of crime and our marginalizing of the victim and their experience. In a world where sensational media coverage focuses its lens on criminality and not suffering, it is so important that we have a dissident voice that challenges the status quo, and this is the voice of Cate Cabot. Her book is successful in de-centering the focus on the aggressor and re-centering our focus on the narrative of the victim. Her book teaches us to re-humanize the victim, and in so doing, we become more human.
In her book Uncharted: A Journey Along the Edge of Time and Survival, Cate Cabot teaches us how to navigate the path of survival from violence. In a world where so many of our young women and men will be victims of some sort of violence, it is so critical that some part of their education is to learn how to survive, and also to learn how to support. Cate Cabot and her book are invaluable in teaching this to us. We will continue to use this book to teach young people about trauma, and I recommend this book to any school that is committed to teaching its students how to overcome violence in their lives.