North of Hope Book Review
Here is what the back of the book says:
When her parents are killed by a grizzly bear in Alaska's remote Arctic, author Shannon Huffman Polson is forced into a wilderness of grief. Her quest for healing is recounted with heartbreaking candor in North of Hope.
Polson travels from her home in Seattle to the wilderness of Alaska, where she retraces her father and stepmother's final days along an Arctic river, effortlessly weaving together the internal landscape of grief with the exterior landscape of the Arctic, elegantly entwining natural history, adventure and sacred pilgrimage while she wrestles with and draws strength from her faith and memories.
This deeply moving narrative is shot through with the human search for meaning in the face of tragedy. Readers will find inspiration for their own challenges through Polson's journey.
My Take:
I lost my mom 4 years ago....so I was excited to read someone else's story of loss and strength. Always wanting to go to Alaska, I really enjoyed her very precise details about the landscape, location, smells, colors, etc. She was VERY detailed....and that I enjoyed very much. The author had a very traumatic experience losing her parents the way she did. I felt for her, I really did....but to fill 254 pages with it seemed a bit much. It became very depressing to have 254 pages of her bitterness and sorrow. I am NOT saying that she didn't have the right to be bitter and sorrow given what she had been through...but I had a hard time reading it....maybe because of my experiences....maybe not. Who knows why I struggled with it. The author seems to be a great writer...obviously...her writing was so descriptive, I felt that I was in Alaska with her.....I just had a hard time with the ongoing sorrow. I saw very little hope in it. I really didn't get much strength from it. Although the strength that SHE showed was awesome as far as traveling the same river that her parents did, etc., I just didn't get much strength from it.
If you want to discover what Alaska has to offer, this is a great book to read. Like I said, very descriptive. If you are looking for a book that will give you hope, you may want to look elsewhere. BUT...if you love to read....by all means, pick up this book!!! It is a memoir after all....just not one that I could relate to!
Check out the Book Trailer HERE! It is really neat!
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