The Sun Is a Compass

It's a personal story where the writer questions her own desires in life, but also experiences an adventure with her partner, that pushes at the edges of what they thought was possible.

As a kid growing up in Alaska, I daydreamed of venturing into the wilderness alone. I was hooked on the promise of adventure.

This book follows that dream as the author and her partner set off on an astonishing quest to traverse Alaska in homemade boats. Thoughtful, funny, and magical, it’s a tale of true love as well as near-death escapes.

In this book, we meet the author, a biologist, at a fork in the road. She has completed her doctoral studies, but in doing so, lost much of her love for her field. She is on the cusp of full adulthood, and lot of big, heavy decisions await.

I loved going along with Van Hemert on her epic journey across the north as she used the time to consider what she wanted in life and why she loved biology to begin with. The juxtaposition of stunning vistas and intimate soul-searching made for an engaging and comforting read.

I love this amazing adventure memoir because Van Hermert is much more courageous than I. As she and her husband row, trek, ski, and canoe 4,000 miles across Alaska, I get to come along for the ride without breaking a sweat. 

Van Hemert, who studied birds, uses the birds she observes as metaphors for what she is feeling, and this increases the depth of her writing. She and her husband take this journey before having children, and I like comparing it to my husband and my journey after our kids had flown the nest. I highly recommend this well-written wild… show more.

Undertaking an epic, 4,000-mile journey by rowboat, foot, skis, and raft, ornithologist Caroline Van Hemert and her husband trek from Bellingham, Washington, to Kotzebue, Alaska, via the Inside Passage, the Yukon, the Arctic coast, and the Brooks Range.

Their adventure is beautifully described in Van Hemert’s memoir, The Sun Is a Compass, both a coming-of-age journey and gripping search for answers to life’s big questions. Although I’ll never undertake a pilgrimage of this magnitude, I loved reading Van Hemert’s book.

This book combines the author's love of nature with adventure. Ornithologist Caroline van Hemert takes a 4,000-mile journey into the Alaskan Wilds and it is both a story of deep immersion into the wild and a story of challenging yourself. Biology is focused on the wonder and complexity of life and what I love about this book is that it celebrates the beauty of the natural world. The author does this through immersion into nature and by deciphering it. Through her intense personal nature contact, she yields unexpected surprises that enhance the beauty of the world. 

Biology can be mentally… show more.