Carson Harper hates life. Hates that she's fat and hates that her mother won't let her do anything because she might get hurt. On the last day of her junior year Carson leaves a note for her mother detailing her plan to escape to an outward bound camp - alone. She'll prove her strength to those mean kids at school who harassed her, and she'll show her mom she's not afraid to take a risk by doing something so big it will change everything. Ha, they'll all have the last laugh at Carson Harper. If only her mother had seen the note. If only a piece of space debris hadn't annihilated their home. At her outward bound camp in Colorado, Carson becomes lost in the midst of a forest fire and embarks on a survival-of-the fittest journey as she searches for home and finds herself. SURVIVING LIFE is the story of how a teenager's brave decision to defy her mother and prove she can survive in the world, teaches both mother and daughter lessons about life and the marvelous and terrifying things that can happen as you give in to passion to live every minute to the fullest.