Pilgrim's Wilderness: A True Story of Faith and Madness on the Alaska Frontier

By Tom Kizzia

Into the Wild meets Helter Skelter in this riveting true story of a modern-day homesteading family in the deepest reaches of the Alaskan wilderness—and of the chilling secrets of its maniacal, spellbinding patriarch.
 
When Papa Pilgrim, his wife, and their fifteen children appeared in the Alaska frontier outpost of McCarthy, their new neighbors saw them as a shining example of the homespun Christian ideal. But behind the family's proud piety and beautiful old-timey music lay Pilgrim's dark past: his strange  connection to the Kennedy assassination and a trail of chaos and anguish that followed him from Dallas and New Mexico. Pilgrim soon sparked a tense confrontation with the National Park Service fiercely dividing the community over where a citizen’s rights end and the government’s power begins. As the battle grew more intense, the turmoil in his brood made it increasingly difficult to tell whether his children were messianic followers or hostages in desperate need of rescue. 

In this powerful piece of Americana, written with uncommon grace and high drama, veteran Alaska journalist, Tom Kizzia uses his unparalleled access to capture an era-defining clash between environmentalists and pioneers ignited by a mesmerizing sociopath who held a town and a family captive.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jul 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9780307587848

Tom Kizzia

Tom Kizzia traveled widely in rural Alaska during a 25-year career as a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. He is the author of the bestseller Pilgrim's Wilderness, chosen by the New York Times as the best true crime book set in Alaska, and the Native village travel narrative, The Wake of the Unseen Object, re-issued in the Alaska classics series of the University of Alaska Press. His journalism has appeared in The New Yorker, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, the Columbia Journalism Review, and in Best American Science and Nature Writing 2017. He received an Artist Fellowship from Rasmuson Foundation and was a Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University. A graduate of Hampshire College, he lives in Homer, Alaska.

Reviews for Pilgrim's Wilderness

[bravenewbks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing. I couldn't put this down, and I still can't believe how recently this happened.

[loraineo_8 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Tom Kizzia is a journalist and author living in Alaska. This book is a very well written , about Papa Pilgrim, his wife and 15 children who move to Alaska in 2002..To begin they seem to be a very religious family, just wanting to live off the land.. Eventually things aren't what they seem and the story is heart breaking.. Hard to put down.. great book.

[jimmiefroehlich · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Creepy account of how isolation drives people crazy.

[c.j.mcbride5stern · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"Pilgrim's Wilderness" is like a train wreck, as disturbing as the tale is you can't take your eyes away from what is written on the page. Tom Kizza, an Alaska journalist, has deftly written a well researched page turner, a book that kept me awake at night and seeped into my dreams turning them into nightmares. This is a true story about a heinous being masquerading as a man, even more heinous masquerading as a family man. Bobby Hale, aka Firefly Sunstar, aka Holy Bob, aka Papa Pilgrim was a Texas boy who grew up in the top echelons of Texas society. His family socialized with John Connally's family, Bobby even ran away with Connally's 16 year old daughter and drove to Oklahoma where they were married, despite their young ages. That marriage lasted 44 days before Kathleen Connally was shot in the back of the head, purported to be a suicide due in part to the testimonial of Bobby Hale. Even at that time Bobby Hale, prior to becoming Papa Pilgrim, showed signs of a manic, aggressive behavior that caused him to lash out and become threatening and abusive to those around him. This will manifest itself daily as he becomes more obsessed with his vision of "God's plan" for him and his family to live in the wilderness following the gospel of the bible. By the time the family arrived in Alaska in 2002 Bobby Hale had morphed into Papa Pilgrim and was towing a family of 14 children living under Papa's stringent rules he professed to be the word of God. This was a man who allowed only 2 books in his home; the bible and "The Pilgrim's Progress" and he read from them daily, teaching his wife and children how to live by the word of God. Papa Pilgrim proselytized himself as a devout Christian, he was not a Christian he was a monster who searched the text of the bible to justify his daily abuse and enslavement of his family, and the thievery he practiced against his neighbors and the state of Alaska. He was a master of manipulation and disarmament, spouting bible verses anytime someone approached him on his actions and behavior. However, this book is not only about the Pilgrim family, it is also a story of wilderness living in Alaska, depending on and offering assistance to neighbors. Where good grace is essential. As disturbing as I found the Pilgrim family the book is highly recommended.

[sethandrew · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It always amazes me when one man can control the minds and will of many people. Papa Pilgrim turned his own family into a cult, and did just that, controlling every aspect of their lives. He kept them from learning to read, he kept them isolated from the rest of society so they wouldn't understand they were being treated differently than the rest of society, and worst of all he did these things under the guise of religion and the Bible. Papa Pilgrim interpreted the Bible in a way to support only his selfish interests, and then preached to his illiterate children who had no chance of ever disputing their father/pastor. Instilling the fear of God and himself (he thought they were one in the same most of the time) he was able to use scripture to get out of his children whatever he wanted. Tom Kizzia does a great job of reporting in Pilgrim's Wilderness. He tells the family's sad story with the skill of the best storytellers. It never feels like reading a dry account of the police reports or National Park Service reports but rather a page turner thriller. He had first hand knowledge of the family; owning a cabin in McCarthy, Alaska, he understands how the pioneer community thinks and works together. The description on the back of the book says it best, "Into the Wild meets Helter Skelter." Kizzia writes like Krakauer about a man only Charles Manson could appreciate. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was disturbing to read about the fate of the Pilgrim family but the author described it so eloquently I couldn't put it down.

[autumnice · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

the desire to live life by your own rules, a home in one of the last frontiers, solitude except your loved ones.Don't we all wish for these things occasionally? What happens if you add mental illness into the equation?[[Tom Kizzia]] has penned a biography about the Pilgram family that any author would be proud of. Fairness to all, harsh truth, and enough humanity to keep the reader interested.

[don.patterson · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Disturbing, but entertaining. A story of faith's amazing survival despite insane distortions.

[igjoe · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Riveting! I couldn't put it down, what a fascinating story. The author did a great job explaining the history of this family while keeping the current story thrilling. Wow, just wow! Great non-fiction story telling. Thanks for all of the detailed research and sifting through it for the truth. Interesting and compelling.

[elizabeth9592 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I won this book through the early reviewers program for liz9592. I found this book very disturbing and it reminds me a little bit of Ariel Castro in Cleveland. It is about a bizarre father and his family of 15 kids who essentially function as a cult and live in rural Alaska. The book is well written and easy to follow and I read it in 2 sittings.

[rivercityreading · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Blogged at River City Reading:
Tom Kizzia's forthcoming book, Pilgrim's Wilderness: A Story of Faith and Madness on the Alaska Frontier, recounts the story of Papa Pilgrim, who set up an ideal Christian homestead with his wife and fifteen children in the small town of McCarthy, Alaska. Initially welcomed to Alaska's remote wilderness by those in the area for their gentle manner and charming musical ability, the Pilgrim family soon begins to divide the community as they begin clashing with the National Park Service over their property rights.

Tom Kizzia's time living in McCarthy allows him to uncover Papa Pilgrim's past as Robert Allen Hale, a Texas teenager with a surprisingly tangled history, while also getting close enough to the family to sense their hidden turmoil. As the family's struggle with the government grows, cracks in their once solid foundation reveal the years of controlling abuse Papa Pilgrim has used to keep them under his thumb.

Fascinating from dozens of angles, Pilgrim's Wilderness starts as a lens into extreme Christianity, environmentalism and government property rights. However, the book soon morphs to examine the rigid hold that a charismatic, but crazed, storyteller can have on a group and the trail of damage he can leave behind.

[kvrfan9 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

People escape to homestead in the ruggedness and isolation of the Alaskan wilderness for a variety of reasons. Almost necessarily, anyone who takes up that challenge has a certain iconoclasm instilled in his DNA. And the various like-minded folks who share the same nonconformist values are likely to live toward their fellows with a "live and let live" attitude.

But sometimes what might initially pass for mere eccentricity is actually evidence of something much, much darker.

This is the story of one such man. "Pilgrim" he called himself. The image he projected was of a father who simply wanted to raise his large family where isolation would allow "pure Christian values" to reign.

In truth, for those under his power he created a hell.

There were signals of Pilgrim's instability to those outside the family with whom he associated. But a lot of allowances are made when one's primarily values are governed by "live and let live."

Until it became overwhelmingly apparent that "live and let live" came at the cost of the devastating oppression of the vulnerable ones surrounding him.

Tom Kizzia is a reporter of the Anchorage Daily News who became involved in the story not only because of his profession but because he had personal connections to the community where Pilgrim laid down his stakes. As such, sort of a member of Pilgrim's family, Kizzia can tell this story like few others can.

"Live and let live" may be a fine philosophy is many--maybe even most--circumstances. But the lesson here is to also trust your instincts. If something doesn't seem "quite right," it probably isn't.

[jen6e6moore · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An incredibly well-written and heartbreaking story of one man's narcissism and violence, and the effects it had on his family, his community, and property rights in Alaska.

[mydustyshelves · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This story first attracted me because of the “live off the grid” mentality of the family. A man, suspicious of the government, wishes to peacefully and biblically raise his large family away from the distractions of the world. The author’s descriptions of both the New Mexico dessert and the Alaskan wilderness are intriguing. What I didn’t realize was that this story of the politics and differing opinions of Alaskan land ownership and use was going to turn into a story of a very disturbed, abusive man who put his family through unimaginable horror. It’s hard to understand how the behavior went unnoticed for so many years and even harder to understand how the children were able to find the strength to turn against their violent, controlling, brainwashing father. This is a story of wilderness adventure, mental illness, abuse, and human resilience.

[jonerthon-437513 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I grew up in the rural West, I love it, and I'm glad that other people find inspiration in it, too. But sometimes these places attract quite freaky and dangerous people, and this book is the story of one of the most infamous. Raised among the Dallas elite, the man who came to be known as Papa Pilgrim lived on the road for a long time before meeting his wife and having 15 (!) children. The story starts as the large family shows up in a rural corner of Alaska, near the massive Wrangell-St. Elias National Park known for its glaciers, looking for land.We learn through Kizzia's story that the family had outstayed their welcome in Mora County, New Mexico--one county north of where I grew up--because they habitually stole from neighbors, broke their fences, and generally disrespected any sense of community or law. This story details the Pilgrim clan arriving and committing the same offenses, and worse, in their new community, as their neighbors get wrapped up in the battles and have to figure out how to defeat a headstrong man that has clear mental health problems. It's in a lot of ways a tragic story. The book demonstrates, through a years-long narrative, why everyone needs to understand how to live cooperatively within our society, even if they spend most of their time on their own. But I thought the storytelling was clear, and the author included the perspectives of many people to round it out, including the Pilgrim children.

[addunn3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a true story in the vein of "Mosquito Coast" and "Educated", except it takes place in a remote community in Alaska.

[amerynth · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Tom Kizzia has done a great job telling the sad tale of Bob Hale in "Pilgrim's Wilderness: A True Story of Faith and Madness on the Alaska Frontier." The story makes for a compelling read.Hale was a domineering man who abused his 15 children and wife in every way imaginable. They moved out to the Alaska frontier so he could live in his brand of religion (which seemed to evolve to suit his purposes) away from any prying eyes. He tangled with the National Park Service -- and became the cause du jour for anti-government folks -- until they backed away once his crimes came to light. This is one of those books that's really hard to put down.... I couldn't wait to read about Hale's arrest and eventual trial. This book will haunt for a while, I suspect.

[elizabeth.b.bevins · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a grand adventure in the Alaska wilderness. Kizzia painted a beautiful landscape behind some very unusual folks. I appreciated the thoughtful way he handled the tragedy at the center of this story.

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Nothing like a good ol' nonfiction book to make you say, "God's Underpants!!! What have I just read?!?!?!?!" I had never heard or read about this case before so this book was a real eye opener. Papa Pilgrim and his fifteen children moved to the wilderness of McCarthy, Alaska to get a fresh start. Papa Pilgrim and his clan operated on old school Christian ideals; their family had minimal contact with people, were "homeschooled" (most couldn't even read), and lived off the land. At first the small town of McCarthy (population less than 100 and insanely hard to get to as there were no roads and it was in the middle of a National Park) welcomed these nice, albeit weird, newcomers. But as months progress they began to sense that something was very wrong. Were they hiding out in Alaska, escaping from the past, what was wrong with the children, what were they doing up in the hills and why did they hate they hate the park rangers? This drama unfolds slowly over time and the trouble that author, Tom Kizzia, goes through to collect, newspaper clippings, testimonials, police reports, and more is staggering. As the case against the Pilgrim family grows, Papa Pilgrim seems to get more and more reckless. Was the family followers of Papa Pilgrims crazy Christian zeal or were they hostages too scared to get help in the wilderness. Gripping and masterfully told, this story of faith and madness on the Alaskan frontier will be sure to grip every reader.I received this book for free from Blogging for Books in return for my honest, unbiased opinion.

[ellenh_28 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Slow to get into, but the second half went much faster. Mesmerizing story but disturbing to read about the family dysfunction.

[elizabethbevins · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a grand adventure in the Alaska wilderness. Kizzia painted a beautiful landscape behind some very unusual folks. I appreciated the thoughtful way he handled the tragedy at the center of this story.

[twink_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A True Story of Faith and Madness on the Alaska Frontier Truth is many times, much stranger than fiction. Very true in the case of Pilgrim's Wilderness by Tom Kizzia. I've always thought that I was born too late - when I was younger, I often daydreamed of a cabin in the middle of the woods and self sufficiency. (Instead I got a job as a living history museum interpreter and played Little House in the Big Woods for many years.) When Papa Pilgrim showed up in the remote town of McCarthy, Alaska with his wife and fifteen children in tow, the residents, although initially wary of newcomers, welcomed them to their community. Pilgrim seemed to want nothing more than to live in peace and practice his Christian values on his newly purchased plot of land within the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Initially everyone enjoys the 'old-timey' nature of the family, their music and Christian values. But that original welcome soon starts to show cracks and eventually divides the town. Pilgrim decides to bulldoze a road through the park, the spark that ignites his 'war' with the National Park Service. The actions of the family don't always match the preaching done by Papa. Papa is a master manipulator, able to twist the scriptures to suit his purpose. And Papa? Well, he's twisted as well. The outward appearance of the family belies the terror he inflicts on his wife and children. (The children range from late twenties to a newborn.) Things escalate, not just with the NPS, but within the cabin housing the Pilgrims. The older children begin to question their lives, their faith and their Papa...... Kizzia is an Alaskan journalist and covered the story as it unfolded. In Pilgrim's Wilderness, he has expanded on those articles with interviews from townsfolk, detractors and supporters, with Pilgrim himself and later with some other family members. He investigates, digs further and uncovers and exposes the man who was born Robert Hale. Again, truth is stranger that fiction - some of it just had me shaking my head in disbelief. Kizzia has a family cabin in McCarthy as well. His familiarity with the area and the issues truly enhanced his account. Although there are some disturbing (okay a lot disturbing) parts of the story, Kizzia handles it all in a fair and true manner, without delving into lurid or tabloid like descriptions. I was riveted from first page - Kizzia opens the book with a gut wrenching, white knuckle prologue -to last, caught up in the story of the madness that was Papa Pilgrim and the fate of his family. (And after the last page was turned - I headed to the computer to follow up) Pilgrim's Wilderness also explores the politics of land use, from many points of view. Pilgrim's Wilderness has been labeled true crime, not a genre I really like. However this book is an exception. Five stars for this reader.

[mmignano11 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Writers of non-fiction must be mostly objective in order to tell a story fairly. An especially skilful writer, though, will find a way to state his claim within the context of the story, using words that "show not tell." Tom Kizzia's sentences are long, often requiring a re-read. Part of my enjoyment of "Pilgrim's Wilderness" came through that search for clarification. The author often had relevant information, or led me to speculation. I kept asking myself if the information was interesting, or if the author was making it so. I didn't want to stop reading, regardless.There are entertaining excerpts in the book. Take the end-times cult leader that lived in retirement with his wife, running a small grocery/gas station. He had to wear a robe to his ankles because he had testicular elephantiasis, or something that caused his balls to swell to enormous proportions. Much of the book, though, talks knowingly about everything from vintage Tundra snowmobiles to mining, from small-town politics to the majesty and force of Alaska's Wilderness. Credit is due Kizzia for his in-depth knowledge of Alaska's frontier, one of the remaining few. In the isolation, people often make their own laws. Kudos to Kizzia for painting a vivid, often stark picture of what I believe we can consider the real Alaskan wilderness. He introduces the reader to a truly unusual family and writes of them in a way that allows us to sympathize as well as shake our heads in disbelief at their loyalty and faith. Papa Pilgrim, the fanatical,confrontational father of the 15 children in the Pilgrim family, is a despot. His children and wife obey him unquestioningly. They survive the tough life in the extremes of Alaska by counting on each other and eventually prove to have unshakeable bonds to each other as the drama plays out. More frightening or less understandable, at least, were the townspeople caught in his thrall. This is a page-turner that leaves you wondering about the depths of human nature.

[janarose1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

A hundred pages into the book, and I'm still not sure what the legal problems are that the author keeps alluding too. Although it is an interesting subject matter, I just wish the author would get to the meat of the story. Overall, a disappointment.

[bookcaterpillar · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A lot of research went into the writing of this book! I've been drawn in from the first chapter but I've been taking my time and digesting the story and all of the characters involved. Although I have little sympathy for the main character, Papa Pilgrim, I appreciate that the author has been balanced and portrayed this family's history fairly. It's some neat National Park, Alaska frontier, and even some hippie back to the land history all in one. The tenuous connections to Charles Manson, Jack Nicholson, and J. Edgar Hoover make it all the more interesting!As I've been reading, I've been thinking of the popularity of the book Into the Wild. If readers wish to learn about an attempt at making a go of living in the Alaskan backcountry, this is the more interesting read, in my opinion. The relations between the Park Service and this family alone make this worthwhile.Appreciate being able to read the advanced copy for Early Reviewers. I plan to spread the word about this book!

[scartertn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Mesmerizing. I could not put it down. I thoroughly enjoyed this book about a small town family living off the land and their struggles with both their evil/narcissistic father and the local townspeople. Since this was an unedited early release I could tell in a few sections that the editing was not quite complete when referencing quotes from one of the children. Regardless, the story-line from multiple angles and points of view kept me both interested and entertained.

[toobusyreading · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm not generally a violent person, but if I found myself standing in front of Robert Hale, the self-named Papa Pilgrim, I would have been tempted to slap him silly at the very least. Not a very Christian attitude? Well, that's okay. If you are Papa Pilgrim, you create your own self-serving vision of Christianity.This story is fascinating and at the same time, horrifying and disgusting. The man: a violent megalomaniac, a pervert, a thief, a suspected murderer, and a monster. A self-appointed god who lived on welfare and donations while espousing the frontier way of living. The story is well written, and the pictures are wonderful, even in the advance reader's copy I read and which probably don't have the quality as in the finished edition. As interesting as I found the story, I also found it bad for my blood pressure. I have not responded so viscerally to a story in...well, longer than I can remember.Early in the book there was more information than I wanted about the history of mining in the valley, and I thought the book might be boring. Wow, was I wrong.This man's wife was only a teenager when he married her, but it didn't take long for him to show his true colors, when she had “only” a handful of children instead of 15. She often spent time away from him while they were looking for new places to live. So why didn't she leave in the early years?I would have liked to know more about her. Is her behavior understandable? Yes. Is it excusable? That is a harder one to answer.As infuriating as this book was to read, I thank the publisher for providing a copy to me and the author for researching and writing the book while fighting his own battles.

[qstewart_5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Tom Kizzia tells the story of a man and his family and how it all went wrong because of the father’s narcissism and his desire to be in control of everything and everyone. This man used the Bible and the love of his children for their father to create a cult with himself as the one through whom God spoke. Whether in the mountains of New Mexico or the backcountry of Alaska the one aspect that help him carry out his plan was isolation.When Kizzia looks at Papa Pilgrim’s past and he runs across such names as John Connally, Judith Exner, and Jack Nicholson one has to wonder how this person ended up in the Alaska wilderness being deserted by his family. What occurred in Papa’s life to bring him to this point in his life? Kizzia lays out the facts and leaves it up to the reader to decide what actually happened during Papa’s late teens until he moves with his wife and young family to the mountains of New Mexico. It is in the rearing of the family that Papa’s true nature comes out. In his dealings with the outside world he used his children and his interpretation of the Bible to gain sympathy from individuals or to fight the National Park Service. Maybe he was just a user. A lot of people were willing to help and stand by Pilgrim and his family and ask no question because they wanted to show solidarity with the family in their desire to live a simpler life or to stand up to the NPS.Pilgrim’s Wilderness is a very good look at an individual who built around him a world that he controlled, at least for a while. Isolation of the family allowed him this control but as they came in contact with more people as they aged, they also began to question. Papa could not answer the questions that were being asked and his family deserted him.