The Sun Is a Compass

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.