This personal narrative/travelogue captures the author's 4,000 mile trek from the Pacific rainforest to the Alaskan Arctic.
Caroline Van Hemert fell in love with her future husband, Pat, in 2001, discovering they shared a passion for nature and wilderness adventure. Ten years later, the couple found themselves disconnected from the outdoors, which they considered an essential part of their being; Caroline writes, "In our commitment to education and jobs, we had neglected what mattered most to us." She also began to feel the pressure of caring for aging parents and the ticking of her biological clock, and realized that her "perception of time shifted from lazy and boundless to precious and finite." As a person who designed and built houses for a living, Pat too, "questioned why he wasted sunny afternoons buried in drywall dust." They decided they needed to "find [their] way home" to the natural world, embarking on a journey from the shores of Washington State to a tiny town in northern Alaska, some 4,000 miles away. The six-month adventure is chronicled in her memoir, The Sun is a Compass.

The first quarter of the narrative covers Van Hemert's life up to the point where she and her husband depart from Bellingham, Washington in March, 2012. She relays how she went from being a bookish child who didn't understand her parents' passion for the outdoors to someone who felt comfortable spending weeks at a time in a tent. She goes on to describe her growing relationship with Pat, her polar opposite, and how they went on to build a life together, finally realizing they weren't happy with the adults they'd become. This section is as fascinating as her account of her adventure, providing an intimate and honest portrait of the author and a clear understanding of why she'd want to undertake such a difficult and dangerous excursion.

The heart of the book is, of course, the remarkable story of the couple's expedition. To put in perspective what they hoped to accomplish, the author mentions that they intended to travel "roadless, trailless terrain through a landscape where glaciers span larger than entire countries," across a distance that was "equivalent to that which separates New York from Stockholm" – all under their own power. As the planner in the family, she was responsible for logistics and had a to-do list as long as her refrigerator. They needed gear to "row, ski, hike, packraft, and canoe," and to purchase and package a thousand pounds of nonperishable food (one evening, she and her sister divided oatmeal into eight hundred individual baggies). They traveled in all kinds of weather (they left Bellingham in a cold March rain that turned into hail); traversed land and sea and raging rivers; braved dangers such as near drowning and attacking grizzly bears; endured hardships (almost starving to death waiting for a late food resupply); and never ceased to revel in the sights, sounds and smells of their environment. There were times I found myself moved by the author's descriptions of the beauty that surrounded her, and her ability to convey the couple's ups and downs as they traveled together really drew me in, making the entire account altogether riveting.

Some are comparing Van Hemert's account to Cheryl Strayed's memoir Wild, but there are significant differences in tone between the two books and, personally, I feel Van Hemert's book is the superior one. While Strayed chronicled her attempt to find herself – a move toward becoming someone new – Van Hemert's work is less introspective and more about returning to the things that make her happiest and give her life meaning. As an outdoorswoman myself, I truly enjoyed every moment of The Sun is a Compass, but others may find it somewhat lacking in emotional depth.

The Sun is a Compass is a marvelous account, perfect for the armchair adventurer and the seasoned traveler alike. Van Hemert's writing is engaging, and she's able to capture the essence of her adventure flawlessly. The book will appeal most to those who enjoy travelogues, memoirs and works about interacting with nature, although the account is so enthralling it will likely appeal to a much broader audience.

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.

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.

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!!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.