100 Deadly Skills: Survival Edition by Clint Emerson
While the front of the book says, “The SEAL Operative’s Guide to Surviving in the Wild and Being Prepared for Any Disaster,” I will tell you that it is helpful and contains safety tactics that are important for even the general public. I wish I had read this book years ago… perhaps I would have been more prepared.
Did you guys should see the number of tabs I have in this book, marking relevant pages? (See photo below). It’s a bit extreme. But all of the tabs mark relevant information that help me feel safe and protected. And that’s the point of this post, to tell you about the highlights, yet not giving away too much to where you won’t need to read the book yourself.
If you see this book on the shelf, you may glance through some of the chapters and see titles like, “Scavenge and Spearfish Rainforest Survival Food,” “Escape a Wild Boar Attack,” and “Escape a Tsunami,” and think to yourself, Pssshtt… I won’t need to know any of this. But take a second look. When you do, you will see chapters titled, “Fortify Your Home Security,” “Build a Tactical Nightstand,” and “Combat Clear your Home.” In one of Clint Emerson’s books similar to this one, there’s even a chapter about freeing yourself if you are zip tied… needless to say, that’ll by my next Clint Emerson read.
The first chapter that stuck out to me was chapter one: “Become Crisis Proof.” The chapters are short (I mean… 1-3 pages) and they include illustrations – definitely my style of book. This chapter suggests that you have a proactive mindset at all times. For example, having situational awareness, personal and cultural awareness, and threat reduction (such as not wearing a necklace as it can be used as a tool to control you).
I put a red tab (you know, the "this is important!" color) on the chapter titled, “Fortify Your Home Security.” This chapter talks about having cameras, adding perimeter lighting around your home, and more. The most notable sentence from this chapter says, “…women living alone may place large pairs of men’s shoes beside their front and back doors to simulate the presence of a male in the household.” Brilliant. (Though, you must also be cautious as to what you post on social media that may contradict this).
There’s a chapter about surviving home invasions and how to command and control a home invader. And I have to admit, I was very curious when I got to the chapter called, “Survive a Pandemic.” How fitting.
I don’t want to give away everything the book has to offer, of course. But I will finish with: I gave the book 5 stars because the chapters were incredibly short, easy to read and understand, and I loved the fact that there were pictures with each chapter. No one wants to read a 20-page chapter about having hornet spray in your nightstand drawer and a steel-barreled pen (that can be used as a weapon) innocently hanging out by your charging phone and Apple Watch.
Clint Emerson cuts to the chase. This was one of my quickest reads of 2021. I couldn’t put it down!
Women, survivors, and people of all genders: be proactive. What’ve you got to lose?
***UPDATE on one of my projects!***
I'm meeting with Becky Kamrath (Sexual Assault and General Crime Advocate for Dodge County (formerly Olmsted County)) and Shayne Olson (Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker with Olmsted County Community Services) in TWO WEEKS! They're the brilliant ladies that are contributing to one of my projects...
Last winter I interviewed twelve strong and brave sexual assault survivors who were willing to share their stories with me and now the world. Becky and Shayne received approval from their jobs to write a piece for each survivor's story; thus, giving insight about each story from a Victim's Advocate and Social Worker's perspective. This project is SO important to me and is going to be so incredibly impactful. I can't thank these survivors enough for sharing their stories and I can't wait to see the impact it has on readers. The release date is yet to be determined, but we are definitely one step closer!
