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When he was 17, Duluth author and photographer 

With five friends he set off on a 600-mile canoe trip through the Canadian wilderness.

They knew it would be tough. They dealt with dangerous river rapids and bad weather that battered them and their boats.

Then, as they were entering the final leg of the trip, Messenger took a short solo hike and found himself face-to-face with a very large bear, which mauled him.

He recounts his story and its lasting effect on his life in an upcoming memoir, 

"The Twenty-Ninth Day: Surviving a Grizzly Attack in the Canadian Tundra."

To hear Alex Messenger read an excerpt from his memoir, click the player below.

Alex Messenger reads an excerpt of his new memoir

An excerpt from "The Twenty-Ninth Day: Surviving a Grizzly Attack in the Canadian Tundra."

Guest host Euan Kerr met Messenger at Leif Erikson Park in Duluth. They sat on a bench in the middle of the park and talked about that trip -- what Messenger did to survive the attack, what he does now to cope and how his bond with nature has changed in the years since.

To hear more about Alex Messenger’s encounter with a bear, click play on the audio player above.

Host

Author

Alex Messenger, a Duluth author and photographer, wrote a memoir chronicling his encounter with a bear when he was 17 years old. He spoke with guest host Euan Kerr on what he did to survive the attack, what he does now to cope and how his bond with nature has changed in the years since.

A Duluth author and the bear that mauled him

Writer Alex Messenger's memoir, "The Twenty-Ninth Day," is out in Nov. 

A Duluth author and the bear that mauled him

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