In this extract from Jean Craighead George's novel, "My Side of the Mountain," the narrator, a young boy, has chosen to live independently in a massive hemlock tree nestled in the heart of a mountain. This tree home, furnished with a bed and a fireplace, offers remarkable resistance to the bitter cold outside, affording him warmth. The narrative is set on either the fourth or fifth of December.
He writes by the light of a DIY lamp made from deer fat and a piece of old...