Blair has completed some of the toughest races in the world, including the Iditarod, and his advice on how she stays true to herself and gets back on track in stressful moments.

Hi, Blair.

Hey, Pepper, I'm Blair.

And in order to stay true to myself, I really try to keep track of the things that make me feel like me.

And for me, that's being outside in the woods, being with my dogs, being with my friends, writing.

So if I feel like I'm not recognizing myself as much or things are feeling a little unfamiliar.

I'm dealing with stress.

Mm

...

in order to survive, and that is not necessarily the case.

One of my, one of my favorite survival stories is about, uh, Maurice and Maralyn Bailey, and there's an incredible book about them that came out recently called A Marriage at Sea.

And the, this, this couple are stranded on a lifeboat for, for months, and Maurice just immediately is like, "Ah, throwing in the towel," like, "Time, time to commit suicide." And Maralyn sort of saves them both, and also while she's doing it is, like, sketching dresses she wants to sew in her notebook-

Mm-hmm.

And more relevantly, perhaps, is that I'm- Now hosting a podcast called What to Carry, What to Burn.

And in each episode, I tell a true survival story.

Right.

You're going out into wilderness and spending so much time alone, that if you're someone who feels like you completely fit in in society, you wouldn't be doing that to yourself.

So I grew up, I grew up in California.

Um, I liked it.

It was fine, but I always thought about the north.

I, I always had, like, books about sled dogs and, um, I had a book about Balto as a kid.

And, and when I was young, my family lived in Norway 'cause my father, uh, had a job working for public health there.

We all love the dogs, right? [laughs]

That'd be great

... for a clip.

[wolves howling] [footsteps crunching] That's super close.

[wolves howling] [footsteps crunching] But, um, but there was this wolf very, very close, a snowball's throw away.

And he or she stood there barking for much of the night.

And at first, I was really scared because wolves can pose a threat to dogs.

Um, and then I saw that my matriarch of the team, Peppy, had...

Yeah

And also in your article-

Yeah, and she, she's, she's in the article.

She's featured very much if you look up that article.

Uh, and some dogs wanna be pets when they retire and, and they really tell us.

Like, it's very clear if a dog wants to like curl up on a couch and, uh, or in front of a fire, or if they wanna just be still running, or if they wanna be...

Like, they let us know.

There's no rule because it's all about each individual dog and what they want.

[laughs]

Just ask Blair Braverman from California.

It's so fun.

It's like, like imagine the speed and excitement and fresh air of skiing, or even just sledding down a hill.

But then you're with, like, between six and 14 dogs who are all really excited and happy, and you're with your best friends the whole time

That's why Blair says teamwork makes the dream work here.

Most of my sled dogs have saved my life at some point or gotten me out of a situation that could be life-threatening.

When I go out in the wilderness, there is a...

Like, I don't have phone reception.

Yeah.

"Survival stories are rarely about women, and even less often do they recognize traditionally female tasks as the actual work of survival.

Not decorations of life, but the fight for life at its most essential.

Between stints at fishing, bailing out the raft, smothering seabirds with a towel, and cleaning Maurice's seeping wounds, Marilyn plans dinner party menus, doodles cats, designs dresses she wants to sew, brown and pink paisley with straight long sleeves-

Mm-hmm.

So if you're listening to this before it comes out, in late October, you can pre-order it and it'll show up at your door.

But you may be listening to this once it's out.

It's called The Day Leap Sword, and it's about sled dogs.