By far the largest state in the US, yet the most sparsely populated. A land of rich natural resources and unforgiving conditions, at the extremity of North America and extending into the Arctic Circle. As beautiful as it is deadly, Alaska has become a destination for countless thrill-seekers, adventurers and nature lovers to test their mettle, and for others to simply call home.
It’s no easy feat to hop a bush plane and trek through the freezing tundra, but Alaska’s near-mythic reputation undoubtedly piques curiosity. Whether you’re looking to explore Alaska in-person or through the pages of others’ adventures, these five memoirs capture the unforgettable experiences of life in one of the most remote places in the world.
The Sun Is a Compass: A 4,000-Mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds by Caroline Van Hemert
In this inspiring memoir, ornithologist and biologist Caroline Van Hemert takes readers through her own unforgettable six-month journey up from the Pacific Northwest to the Alaskan Artic. Feeling inhibited by the sterile world of graduate school science labs, Van Hemert and her husband set off to immerse themselves in the nature she’d been studying so hard to preserve. A 4,000-mile journey would be arduous on its own, but these two adventurers take it a step further by traveling by rowboat, raft, canoe, ski and foot. No cars, no planes, no motorboats — just grit, tenacity and the raw strength of the human body and spirit.
Van Hemert’s experience as an ornithologist and biologist shines through the writing as she details the richness of each and every ecosystem. Part-memoir, part-travelogue and part-scientific research study, The Sun Is a Compass inspires readers to push past the limits of what they think possible and remind us to keep an eye out for adventure every now and then.
Working on the Edge: Surviving In the World's Most Dangerous Profession: King Crab Fishing on Alaska's High Seas by Spike Walker
Referred to by some as the modern-day gold rush, Alaskan king crab fishing in the Bering Sea is not for the faint of heart. Weeks out on rough seas, battling freezing temperatures and harsh winds, skipping sleep to make full use of the short season — with a fatality rate about 80 times that of the average worker, it soon becomes clear why this is statistically the most dangerous job in the United States. But to Spike Walker, the danger was what made him feel truly alive.
The inspiration behind the Discovery TV show Deadliest Catch, Walker’s writing captures the unforgettable boom years of the industry, showing the full breadth of what Alaska had to offer for the thrill-seeking fishermen that poured their lives into the work. Chronicling tragedies at sea, stunning stories of survival and the tight-knit community that made this industry a way of life, Walker’s memoir is as immersive as the icy ocean itself.
Teaching in the Dark: A Memoir by Genét Simone
Shishmaref, Alaska is a remote village on a small island along the coast of the Chukchi Sea, just north of the Bering Strait and 5 miles from the mainland. But when Genét Simone accepts her very first teaching position there, she has no idea what she’s in for — not until the small bush plane she’s on comes in for a landing over a “misshapen lima bean” sitting in the middle of the ocean.
From that moment forth, Simone must deal with all the challenges of being a first-year teacher alongside culture shock, isolation from the mainland and survival in this harsh, unforgiving environment; and as much as Simone has material to teach her students, it seems they have just as much to teach her in kind. A touching memoir filled with life lessons, Teaching in the Dark reminds readers of how much we have to learn from each other, and the rewards of rising above challenges and connecting as a community.
Check out our full review of Teaching in the Dark here.
Rhythm of the Wild: A Life Inspired by Alaska's Denali National Park by Kim Heacox
Author of the award-winning novel Jimmy Bluefeather and nonfiction like National Geographic’s The National Parks: An Illustrated History, Kim Heacox’s experience as a Former National Park Service ranger is front and center in all his works, this one in particular. Following his career through Alaska’s Denali, Glacier Bay and Katmai National Parks, Rhythm of the Wild spans over three decades of service and skillfully captures the ephemeral spirit of the Far North.
The reader travels alongside Heacox as if on a backpacking journey together, following in his footsteps through the landscape of Denali, learning about the park’s wildlife, its history and what now threatens its existence in the modern day. Peppered with notable figures of Denali’s past and present, this love-letter to the Alaskan wilderness compels us to look outside ourselves towards a possible future where nature is preserved, restored and respected.
Fifty Miles from Tomorrow: A Memoir of Alaska and the Real People by William L. Iggiagruk Hensley
While countless books about Alaska’s wilderness are written by Outsiders to the territory, William L. Iggiagruk Hensley’s memoir stands out as one written by a Native Alaskan. Born on the shores of the Chukchi Sea within the Artic Circle, Hensley was raised in the seminomadic style of his Iñupiaq ancestors. It was the way his community had endured and thrived within Alaska’s icy tundra for thousands of years; but as a young man, Hensley was sent by missionaries to the Lower 48 states to pursue an education.
While there, Hensley learned of the plight that would kickstart the Alaska Native land claims movement; ever since the territory of Alaska became a US state in 1959, Native Alaskans were being dispossessed of the ancestral lands they had cherished for millennia. From that point on, Henlsey worked tirelessly with the land claims movement to lobby the United States government into setting aside money and land for Alaska’s native peoples — an agreement that finally came to pass in 1971. Fifty Miles from Tomorrow gives readers a glimpse into Hensley’s life and reminds us that Alaska is not just a place for adventure, but an ancestral home to many who have fought to preserve it.
