Cover Image: The Sun Is a Compass

The Sun Is a Compass

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Member Reviews

I'm not sure why, but I feel like Alaska is having a moment right now in terms of it being the central location in so many books lately. And I'm here for it! I am NOT a fan of Cheryl Strayed's Wild (I found it boring), which this has been compared to, but I still enjoyed following Van Hemert and her husband on their wilderness journey. Seeing so much of the natural world through her eyes was truly a gift, but I did find some sections a bit meandering and tedious. Ultimately, this was a really enjoyable read and I was able to occupy a different perspective, which is always a pleasure.

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I see a movie coming from this book. I don’t want to spoil anything but there are many moments in this book where disaster looms. Well written and paced. I found myself thinking that these are crazy people for wanting to undertake this endeavor. I would love to ask the author if she had known how challenged no this trek would be, would she have done it. Highly recommend if you like these types of books.

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This book is amazing from the first page to the last!! Not only is Caroline inspiring as a person -- but her writing is what makes this memoir stand out!! She has the gift of storytelling!!

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This is a well written book. The imagery is vital in an adventure book like this, and it's spot on here. Caroline and her husband Pat decide to traverse across mountains, rivers, oceans and glaciers using their own muscles. They hike, row or paddle into the arctic and back.

Caroline Van Hemert grew up in Alaska so it's not odd for her to take this long wilderness adventure in her own backyard. She is a biologist, or more accurately an ornithologist. One aspect I loved in this book is her descriptions of the birds they see and hear. It even made me more aware of the birds that are around me in my daily life.

It's crazy what humans will put themselves through. For these two it was worth the physical sacrifice and danger, and certainly won't be their last trip into the wild. This was an amazing adventure, and I enjoyed reading about it.

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i reviewed this book on my blog and will send the link to the review to the publisher in the next round of this process.

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I love a good adventure story and if it involves ice I'm in. Caroline Van Hemert's memoir The Sun is a Compass is a beautiful and thoughtful exposition on her love of the Alaskan wilderness and the 4,000-mile journey she and her spouse shared over six months. The memoir transcends the typical story of man (or woman) vs nature, for Van Hemert also documents her struggle to find her life path--will she be content in a research career, what about children, how long will their bodies allow them to follow their hearts?

Working in the field as a student, Alaskan native Van Hemert became interested in ornithology, and in particular why so many chickadees beaks were misformed. Lab work was soul-deadening. She and her husband Peter, who at eighteen trekked into Alaska and built his own cabin by hand, had long discussed a dream journey from the Pacific Northwest rain forest to the Arctic Circle. Before Van Hemert decided on her career path they committed to making their dream a reality.

Their journey took them across every challenging terrain and through every extreme weather imaginable, bringing them face-to-face with predator bear and migrating caribou, driven near crazy by mosquitoes swarms and nearly starving waiting for food drop-offs. But they also met hospitality in far distant corners and saw up close a quickly vanishing ecosystem.

It is a story of a marriage, as well; how Peter and Caroline depended on each other while carrying their own weight--literally, with seventy-pound supply packs.

I enjoyed reading this memoir on so many levels. Van Hemert has written a profound memoir on our vanishing wilderness and the hard decisions women scientists must make.

I thank the publisher who allowed me access to an egalley through NetGalley.

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I love memoirs and was intrigued by the story of surviving described in the book summary. I found the book contained a lot of science and not a lot of adventure. Unlike Wild by Cheryl Strayed, I didn’t experience a ‘coming of age’ story either, The book doesn’t really delve deep into Caroline’s personal life which made me feel a little disconnected overall.

The book does deliver a story of survival, a very long one indeed. However, I felt quite bored and was very tempted to stop reading at about 50%.

Thank you, Little Brown and #netgalley for an advanced e-book version in exchange for an honest review.

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I saw this book as I was searching through Netgalley and the synopsis greatly intrigued me. I requested the book and received an ARC copy. This book was a detailed and great narrative of the trek this couple took. It was a book I'm glad I had the chance to read. I have been to the Yukon and Alaska so know that the terrain and route they traversed was treacherous and sometimes daunting. This is part of what drew me to read their story.
I admire the tenacity, determination, and perseverance this couple had to make a journey of 4000 miles and 6 months to complete through wilderness that few humans have traversed. They hiked, they skied, they paddled different types of boats with just the things they could carry on their backs most of the time. They endured many challenges along the way. Freezing temps, blizzards, torrential rains, hunger and sometimes doubts.
The descriptions that Ms. Van Hemert writes are extremely detailed. From the different types of animals to the terrain they are in. They cross paths with grizzly bears, a caribou migration, whales, and so many different types of birds. She especially focuses on the many different birds they encounter. I learned more about birds than I ever imagined reading this book.
This was a journey of a lifetime and one that not many would have been able to complete. I admire this.
I want to thank Netgalley and Ms. Van Hemert for the opportunity to read this book.

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I could not put this book down. I felt like I was on the 4,000 mile journey with Caroline and her husband. I cheered for them, laughed with them, and cried with them as they traveled across the artic. It is a journey of self-discovery and their own journey as a couple. This book is for anyone with a wanderlust spirit or feels a little loss in their current life. While not everyone will be inspired to travel 4,000 miles, the book certainly encourages the reader to do something out of your comfort zone.

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I realise that 2019 is still in its first quarter, and I've read some really excellent books so far, but The Sun Is a Compass is my most favourite read in a very long time. My poor family members had to listen to me narrate what was happening any time something caught my fancy. It's not often that a memoir captures my attention and reads better than fiction.

The well written first-person narrative captured my attention from the opening paragraph and kept me in its grip until the very last sentence. A descriptive, relatable text chronicling human nature vs. Mother Nature. It was an incredibly beautiful tale of human endurance and a reminder of how small we are in the vastness of the wilderness. Inspiring and humbling all at once, I cannot recommend this title enough.

If you are looking for a book to point out that you are quite satisfied in your semi-rural, daily grind existence, this is it. If you enjoy living vicariously through the adventures of other individuals, this is it. If you find courage in tales of human vs. wild, this is it. If you find motivation in accomplishment and beating the odds, this is it. If you want to find yourself lost in a recounting of someone finding themselves in living and travelling by their own power through remote and austere environs, this is it. Colourful, descriptive, and moving. Absolutely brilliant - I have huge respect for the adventurer and her husband and how well she retold their story.

(P.S. I'm not a huge fan of book to movie renditions, but I could vividly imagine this on the big screen with every new page..)

My thanks to the publisher for the galley. All opinions are my own.

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Caroline and her husband Pat take an unimaginable journey from Washington to the Arctic Circle. through places that I am not all that familiar with. I was both impressed and in awe of the pure fortitude to finish what they started. I enjoyed this book, and picked it because I was a huge fan of Wild by Cheryl Strayed.

I received an uncorrected advance copy of this book in kind for my honest review. My advice is for the finished copy to include a map, I was able to look up most of the route they took, but a map would be helpful to the reader. Also, the book refers to birds a lot, a chart of the birds would be a nice touch.

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The Sun is a Compass is an adventure story. It's a true story of an incredible journey that is dangerous across Alaska. I always like this type of story because the characters always learn something valuable about themselves. It's a great story. I enjoyed it. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

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