The Sun Is a Compass: a 4,000-mile journey into the Alaskan wilds by Caroline Van Hemert

The gripping story of a biologist's journey from Washington State to high above the Arctic Circle - traveling across remote and rugged terrain solely by human power - to rediscover birds, the natural world, and her own love of science.

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 book explores the bounds of the physical body and the tenuousness of life in the company of creatures whose daily survival is nothing short of miraculous. It is a journey through the heart, the mind, and some of the wildest places left in North America.

In the end, The Sun Is a Compass is a love letter to nature, an inspiring story of endurance, and a beautifully written testament to the resilience of the human spirit.

 

308 pages (March 2019)

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Title Read-alikes:

On Call in the Arctic by Thomas J. Sims; Trespassing Across America by Ken Ilgunas; Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube: Chasing Fear and Finding Home in the Great White North by Blair Braverman; Northernmost by Peter Geye; How to Be a Good Creature by Sy Montgomery; Kissed by a Fox by Priscilla Stuckey; On Trails by Robert Moor; My Penguin Year Lindsay McCrae; Fathoms by Rebecca Giggs; The Adventurer's Son: A Memoir by Roman Dial; Lands of the Lost Borders by Kate Harris; A Land Gone Lonesome: An Inland Voyage Along the Yukon River by Dan O'Neill; and Into the Planet: My Life as a Cave Diver by Jill Heinerth.