Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

The Sun Is a Compass

A 4,000-Mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
For fans of Cheryl Strayed, the gripping story of a biologist's human-powered journey from the Pacific Northwest to the Arctic to rediscover her love of birds, nature, and adventure.
During graduate school, as she conducted experiments on the peculiarly misshapen beaks of chickadees, ornithologist Caroline Van Hemert began to feel stifled in the isolated, sterile environment of the lab. Worried that she was losing her passion for the scientific research she once loved, she was compelled to experience wildness again, to be guided by the sounds of birds and to follow the trails of animals.
In March of 2012, she and her husband set off on a 4,000-mile wilderness journey from the Pacific rainforest to the Alaskan Arctic, traveling by rowboat, ski, foot, raft, and canoe. Together, they survived harrowing dangers while also experiencing incredible moments of joy and grace — migrating birds silhouetted against the moon, the steamy breath of caribou, and the bond that comes from sharing such experiences.
A unique blend of science, adventure, and personal narrative, The Sun is a Compass explores the bounds of the physical body and the tenuousness of life in the company of the creatures who make their homes in the wildest places left in North America. Inspiring and beautifully written, this love letter to nature is a lyrical testament to the resilience of the human spirit.
Winner of the 2019 Banff Mountain Book Competition: Adventure Travel
  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from October 22, 2018
      In undertaking an epic trek from the Pacific Northwest to the Alaskan Arctic, Van Hemert, a wildlife biologist, and her husband encountered both the grandeur and danger of some of the planet’s wildest locations. She vividly renders the experience, including being stalked by a black bear in the Brooks Range, initially visible only as “deep-set eyes, a pointed nose, and cinnamon-colored fur”; fighting the elements in a homemade rowboat off Vancouver Island; capsizing a raft in the Arctic Ocean; and coming under relentless attack for days by thousands of mosquitos in the Mackenzie Delta. Similarly, descriptions of witnessing a huge herd of caribou crossing Alaska’s Noatak River and of being followed in the Arctic Ocean by two huge moose, “large, brown noses stirring the surface of the water as they stare blankly ahead,” capture the magnificence of untamed nature. Van Hemert proves equally adept at exploring the inner dialogue that accompanied the harrowing physical feats, touching on love and loss, new parenthood, and the struggle to combine her passions for scientific inquiry and adventure. She leaves nature lovers with a story—of adventure, of environmental awareness, and of personal discovery—worth savoring. Agent: Bonnie Nadell, Hill Nadell Literary.

    • Library Journal

      December 1, 2018

      In her first book, Van Hemert embarks on an epic journey toward understanding the concept of zugunruhe, the German word for migratory restlessness most markedly seen in certain bird species. Disillusioned by the drudgeries of academia and realities of adulthood, Van Hemert and husband Pat commit to traveling north from Bellingham, WA, to the upper reaches of Alaska and then across the Alaskan wilderness eschewing motorized transportation of any kind. They traverse water via homemade rowboats, canoe, and inflatable rafts, and cover land by ski and foot. Throughout the adventure, Van Hemert reveals the concerns that plague her: can she recapture her love of the natural world snuffed out by the grind of pursuing a PhD? Is it the right time to start a family? How will her dad fare with his recent diagnosis of Parkinson's disease? These thoughts are juxtaposed by a quest that requires sheer force of will, strength, and a driving determination to finish what she started. VERDICT This inspirational memoir is riveting. Reading it will incite wanderlust.--Diana Hartle, Univ. of Georgia Science Lib., Athens

      Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Kirkus

      December 15, 2018
      A research wildlife biologist at the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center recounts a stirring wilderness adventure set against the background of a young woman juggling family, career, and a passion for rough country.From the Pacific rainforests of Washington state to a remote corner of the Alaskan Arctic, it was an often grueling, 4,000-mile journey by foot, skis, raft, and canoe that few would have attempted, even such experienced wilderness travelers as debut author Van Hemert and her husband, Pat. In 2012, the author, who had begun to question her devotion to science, and Pat, a home builder driven by wanderlust, embarked on an expedition that would succeed or fail on human power alone--no roads, no trails, no motors--and test the limits of their endurance on some of the harshest and most unforgiving terrain in the world. Van Hemert chronicles their journey in sharp, sometimes-harrowing detail, though not so minutely that the narrative bogs down in the exigencies of living in the wild. While she discusses their various triumphs and travails, the author fully expresses the wonder of what they saw and experienced, who they met along the way, the microcultures they encountered, and how the journey brought her back to a love of scientific inquiry (if not to a love of the laboratory). After a brief in-progress report, she opens with the couple's personal histories and motivations for undertaking the trip. What might have been perfunctory actually adds depth. For all the readers' vicarious thrills and Van Hemert's admirable writing, it is the author's candor regarding her doubts and her appealing vulnerability that make this memoir so resonant.One follows this engrossing adventure feeling as eager as the travelers to see what's around the next bend in the river, on the next island, across the next coastal passage, or over the next mountain pass.

      COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Loading