The White Mary: A Novel

Marika Vecera is a young war reporter, recently back from the Congo and venturing into the first serious relationship of her life, when she hears the news that Robert Lewis has committed suicide. Lewis was a famous war correspondent and a hero to Marika, and as she begins working on his biography she gets word from a missionary who claims to have seen Lewis alive. Astounded, Marika uproots her life in Boston and heads to Papua New Guinea--the world's least explored frontier--to uncover the truth. Encountering all the dangers of jungle travel and the haunting mythology of native tribes, Marika's search for Lewis becomes an unforgettable journey into the depths of the human soul.

Literature & Fiction

Salak, Kira

United States

Picador

At the age of 24, kira salak undertook a three-month solo journey across papua, new guinea four corners, her account of that trip, is an extraordinary travel memoir amid the breathtaking landscapes and wildlife, salak traversed this island, known as the last frontier of adventure travel, by dugout canoe and on foot along the way, salak stayed in a village where people still practiced cannibalism behind the backs of the missionaries, met the leader of the opm, the separatist guerrilla movement opposing the indonesian occupation of western new guinea, and undertook an epic trek through the jungle four corners is also an interior journey as salak explores her dysfunctional family past, and the demons that drive her to experience situations that most of us can barely imaginereading more like a thriller than a travel book, four corners is compulsive armchair travel at its very best

Four Corners

Travel

Australia & South Pacific

National Geographic Society

'In the beginning, my journeys feel at best ludicrous, at worst insane. This one is no exception.' Kira Salak recently became the first person to successfully canoe 600 miles down the River Niger from Old Segou to Timbuktu - the golden city of the Middle Ages, and, legend has it, the doorway to the end of the world - in Mali, West Africa. Enduring tropical storms, hippos, rapids, the unrelenting heat of the Sahara desert and the mercurial moods of this notorious river, she travelled alone through one of the most desolate regions in Africa where little had changed since British explorer Mungo Park was taken captive by Moors in 1797. Dependent on local people for food and shelter, each night she came ashore to stay in remote mud-hut villages on the Niger's banks, meeting Dogon sorceresses and tribes who were alternately welcoming and hostlle, so remarkable was the sight of an unaccompanied white woman paddling all the way to Timbuktu. In one instance she barely escaped from men who chased after her in wooden canoes, but she finally arrived, weak but triumphant, at her fabled destination. There, she fulfilled her ultimate goal by buying the freedom of two Bella slaves with gold. THE CRUELLEST JOURNEY is a compelling memoir and a meditation on self-will by a young adventurer without equal, whose writing is as thrilling as her life.

The Cruellest Journey : 600 Miles by Canoe to the Legendary City of Timbuktu

BANTAM PRESS

A New York Times Notable Book about a PEN Award–winning journalist’s extraordinary journey through the last frontier of adventure travel. At the age of twenty-four, Kira Salak took a three-month solo trip across Papua New Guinea, making her the first woman to have traversed the whole country. Amid the breathtaking landscapes and wildlife, she navigated the island by dugout canoe and on foot. Along the way, she stayed in a village where people still practice cannibalism behind the backs of the missionaries; met the leader of the OPM, the separatist guerrilla movement opposing the Indonesian occupation of Western New Guinea; and undertook an epic trek through the jungle. Four Corners is also an interior journey as she explores her dysfunctional family's past and the demons that drive her to experience situations that most of us can barely imagine. Reading more like a thriller than a travel memoir, Four Corners is compulsive armchair travel at its very best.

Four Corners: A Journey into the Heart of Papua New Guinea

Asia

National Geographic

Kira Salak is a young woman with a history of seeking impossible challenges. She grew up relishing the exploits of the great Scottish explorer Mungo Park and set herself the daunting goal of retracing his fatal journey down West Africa's Niger river for 600 miles to Timbuktu. In so doing she became the first person to travel alone from Mali's Old Segou to "the golden city of the Middle Ages," and, legend has it, the doorway to the end of the world. In the face of the hardships she knew were to come, it is amazing that she could have been so sanguine about her journey's beginning: "I have the peace and silence of the wide river, the sun on me, a breeze licking my toes, the current as negligible as a faint breath. Timbuktu seems distant and unimaginable." Enduring tropical storms, hippos, rapids, the unrelenting heat of the Sahara desert and the mercurial moods of this notorious river, she traveled solo through one of the most desolate regions in Africa where little had changed since Mungo Park was taken captive by Moors in 1797. Dependent on locals for food and shelter, each night she came ashore to stay in remote mud-hut villages on the banks of the Niger, meeting Dogan sorceresses and tribes who alternately revered and reviled her- so remarkable was the sight of an unaccompanied white woman paddling all the way to Timbuktu. Indeed, on one harrowing stretch she barely escaped harm from men who chased her in wooden canoes, but she finally arrived, weak with dysentery, but triumphant, at her destination. There, she fulfilled her ultimate goal by buying the freedom of two Bella slaves with gold. This unputdownable story is also a meditation on self-mastery by a young adventuress without equal, whose writing is as thrilling as her life. Kira Salak is a young woman with a history of seeking impossible challenges. She grew up relishing the exploits of the great Scottish explorer Mungo Park and set herself the daunting goal of retracing his fatal journey down West Africa's Niger river for 600 miles to Timbuktu. In so doing she became the first person to travel alone from Mali's Old Segou to "the golden city of the Middle Ages," and, legend has it, the doorway to the end of the world. In the face of the hardships she knew were to come, it is amazing that she could have been so sanguine about her journey's beginning: "I have the peace and silence of the wide river, the sun on me, a breeze licking my toes, the current as negligible as a faint breath. Timbuktu seems distant and unimaginable." Enduring tropical storms, hippos, rapids, the unrelenting heat of the Sahara desert and the mercurial moods of this notorious river, she traveled solo through one of the most desolate regions in Africa where little had changed since Mungo Park was taken captive by Moors in 1797. Dependent on locals for food and shelter, each night she came ashore to stay in remote mud-hut villages on the banks of the Niger, meeting Dogan sorceresses and tribes who alternately revered and reviled her- so remarkable was the sight of an unaccompanied white woman paddling all the way to Timbuktu. Indeed, on one harrowing stretch she barely escaped harm from men who chased her in wooden canoes, but she finally arrived, weak with dysentery, but triumphant, at her destination. There, she fulfilled her ultimate goal by buying the freedom of two Bella slaves with gold. This unputdownable story is also a meditation on self-mastery by a young adventuress without equal, whose writing is as thrilling as her life.

Cruelest Journey: Six Hundred Miles To Timbuktu

History

Africa

A young woman journeys deep into the untamed jungle, wrestling with love and loss, trauma and healing, faith and redemption, in this sweeping debut from “the gutsiest woman adventurer of our day” (Book Magazine)
Marika Vecera, an accomplished war reporter, has dedicated her life to helping the world’s oppressed and forgotten. When not on one of her dangerous assignments, she lives in Boston, exploring a new relationship with Seb, a psychologist who offers her glimpses of a better world. 
Returning from a harrowing assignment in the Congo where she was kidnapped by rebel soldiers, Marika learns that a man she has always admired from afar, Pulitzer-winning war correspondent Robert Lewis, has committed suicide. Stunned, she abandons her magazine work to write Lewis’s biography, settling down with Seb as their intimacy grows. But when Marika finds a curious letter from a missionary claiming to have seen Lewis in the remote jungle of Papua New Guinea, she has to wonder, What if Lewis isn’t dead? 
Marika soon leaves Seb to embark on her ultimate journey in one of the world’s most exotic and unknown lands. Through her eyes we experience the harsh realities of jungle travel, embrace the mythology of native tribes, and receive the special wisdom of Tobo, a witch doctor and sage, as we follow her extraordinary quest to learn the truth about Lewis—and about herself, along the way.

Henry Holt and Co.

Marika Vecera, a seasoned war reporter at thirty-two, is on assignment in the Congo when she’s captured by rebel soldiers and nearly killed. Making it home to Boston, she finds herself drawn into a relationship with Seb, a psychologist who offers her glimpses of a kinder world. But when she learns about the suicide of her hero, Robert Lewis, the famous Pulitzer-winning journalist, she doesn’t know if she’ll ever recover from the loss. She begins writing his biography, only to receive a shocking letter from a missionary who claims to have seen Lewis alive in a remote jungle in Papua New Guinea. She can only wonder, What if Lewis isn’t really dead? Marika is determined to find out if the letter is true. Leaving Seb, she embarks on a grueling journey through one of the most dangerous places on earth. She is guided by Tobo, a witch doctor who shows her a magical world of tribal custom and taboo, where people live in fear of spirits coming for them in the night. A powerful and riveting tale, The White Mary carries the listeners not only into the heart of a strange new world but into the depths of the human spirit.

The White Mary (Brilliance Audio on Compact Disc)

BRILLIANCE AUDIO ^

Describes the author's efforts to follow in the footsteps of British explorer Ivan Champion, the first individual to successfully cross the isalnd of Papua New Guinea in 1927, detialing her adventures, experiences, and self-discoveries along the way. 35,000 first printing.

Biographies & Memoirs

Community & Culture

Counterpoint

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Salak, Kira. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Salak, Kira

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Salak, Kira. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The White Mary: A Novel

Four Corners

The Cruellest Journey : 600 Miles by Canoe to the Legendary City of Timbuktu

Four Corners: A Journey into the Heart of Papua New Guinea

Cruelest Journey: Six Hundred Miles To Timbuktu

The White Mary: A Novel

The White Mary (Brilliance Audio on Compact Disc)

Four Corners