North of Hope by Shannon Huffman Polson ~ review

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (April 9, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310328764
• ISBN-13: 978-0310328766

This book is also available as an e-book.

Release date: April 9, 2013

After her parents are killed in a rare grizzly attack, the author is forced into a wilderness of grief. Turning to loves she learned from her father, Polson explores the perilous terrain of grief through music, the natural world, and her faith. Her travels take her from the suburbs of Seattle to the concert hall where she sings Mozart's Requiem, and ultimately into the wilderness of Alaska's remote Arctic and of her heart.

This deeply moving narrative is shot through with the human search for meaning in the face of tragedy. Polson's deep appreciation for the untamed and remote wilderness of the Alaskan Arctic moves her story effortlessly between adventure, natural history, and sacred pilgrimage, as much an internal journey as a literal one. Readers who appreciate music or adventure narratives and the natural world or who are looking for new ways to understand loss will find guidance, solace, and a companionable voice in this extraordinary debut.

My take on this book:

"North of Hope" allows the readers a glimpse of the author's struggle after she loses her father and stepmother in a grizzly attack in 2005. Her story not only takes us back to the Alaska wilderness where the tragedy occurs in the hopes finishing the journey that her father didn't and perhaps gain a few answers along the way. As the author travels thru the Alaskan countryside her vivid descriptions allowed me to travel along with her. More than the trek thru the Alaskan wilderness though is the spiritual journey that the author takes us on. A journey of loss and grief, that ultimately gives us glimpses of hope and healing.

A complimentary copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review.