Why I’ll Read Eva Shockey’s New Book, ‘Taking Aim’
Dave Maas 03.27.17
Because I turkey hunt with a bow, and much of my time is spent waiting in ambush in a ground blind, I help pass the time between turkey encounters with a good book. My rule is to look up from the page at the end of each paragraph. The way I figure it, a gobbler shouldn’t be able to sneak into my decoys – even silently – and catch me off-guard if I look up every 30 seconds or so.
I know when I have a good book in-hand because I’ll cheat and sneak in two paragraphs, or even three, without glancing up from the page. And how do I know when I have a great book? When even though a big gobbler is approaching, I’ll keep reading and hold off on setting down the book until the very last instant!
Sadly, “Taking Aim” by Eva Shockey won’t be available by this spring turkey season. But that’s okay, because I love to read in the deer stand, too. It will be released on August 29, 2017 – just in time for early archery whitetail season. (You can pre-order it now!)
So why am I excited to read it? A few reasons.
One is simple curiosity. You see, I spent 9 years in book publishing (editing hunting, fishing and shooting titles), and I find the book’s subtitle, “Daring to be Different, Happier, and Healthier in the Great Outdoors,” intriguing. I think the book will be unlike anything I’ve read (or edited) before.
The book’s “sell copy” is interesting, too. Specifically, I like these two quotes:
“Eva Shockey grew up aspiring to be a dancer, like her glamorous mother. But something about spending family vacations RV-ing across North America and going on hunts with her dad sparked in her an unduring passion for a different way of life.”
“For her, as the millions of fans who follow her life on TV and on social media can attest, that [career choice and lifestyle] has meant hunting as a way of harvesting food, caring deeply about sustainability and healthy eating, and getting closer to God in nature.”
A third reason is that even though I don’t know Eva Shockey, I’ve known her dad, Jim Shockey, for 15 years. Or in other words, since Eva was 14. Before coming to OutdoorHub, I spent 13 years as Managing Editor for North American Hunter magazine/website, and one of my responsibilities was editing Jim’s back-page humor column, “Shock Therapy.” I also worked with Jim on many hunting features through the years.
During this time, I was always impressed by Jim’s integrity and professionalism in how he approached his many writing assignments, even though he was being pulled in many directions by other responsibilities (family, TV show, outfitting business, etc.). I learned early on that Jim is the real deal when it comes to hunting, conservation and passing on these traditions to our youth. And I think the same can be said of his daughter, too.
A few FYI notes for those of you who haven’t followed Eva Shockey on social media or TV. Eva is married to professional hockey player Tim Brent, and the couple recently had their first child, daughter Lennon (Leni) Bow Brent. And yes, Tim is an avid hunter and angler.
Like many diehard hunters, Eva didn’t give up her passion during her pregnancy. (Sidebar: I remember when my wife was 8 months pregnant with our first child. I was standing beside her on a river-bottom still-hunt when she missed a 20-yard shot with her bow on a mature 5×5 South Dakota whitetail. To this day –some 14 years later – she still blames the miss on the baby kicking!)
Lastly, during the last few years as her popularity has increased, Eva has had to deal with anti-hunters who don’t share our love of hunting and shooting. But like her dad, Eva isn’t about to apologize for her lifestyle. One word: awesome!
Congrats to Eva on the baby – and the book! You can check out what Eva had to say about both by watching the Facebook Live video below.
