Overview

Setting off in an overloaded canoe, they journeyed down the Yukon River and walked upstream into the remote Brooks Range to build a cabin and live off the land. She was twenty-two, daughter of a famous woman adventurer. He was her childhood sweetheart. Four years later, they emerged from the Alaskan wilds. Now in her sixties, Jean Aspen updates her spellbinding tale of adventure in a harsh and beautiful land for a new generation. ARCTIC DAUGHTER is at once an extraordinary journey of self-discovery and a lyrical odyssey. A READER'S DIGEST book selection, this remarkable tale of survival and courage measures the value of dreams against the unforgiving realities of the natural world. First published in 1988 by Bergamot Books, Minneapolis, MN.

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9781941821763

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This stark, philosophical work chronicles Aspen, an artist and daughter of the author-adventurer Connie Helmer-icks, who, at the age of 22, chose to sojourn into the wil-derness of Alaska, above the Arctic Circle, and live off the land. Aspen was accompanied by her first husband-to-be Phil; her harsh, relentlessly honest journal depicts two stoics who ate salted and dried horse meat, berries, eve-n under miserable circumstances raw, rubbery moose that contained the wriggly pearl of a maggot. The couple encountered no other humans for almost a year, and in that time the author sought the essence of experience . . . that elusive something that makes the world sparkle. Aspen believed that civilization snatches away more than it gives in return: I m not certain that all our toys are worth what we pay for them. Rather, she endured the brutal weather and exalted when the sun returned after a 60-day absence: Life isn t safe, no matter how carefully you plan. . . . You may as well enjoy the ride. Aspen s journey isn t pretty reading, but her voice is memorable and her endurance marvelous. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY This stark, philosophical work chronicles Aspen, an artist and daughter of the author-adventurer Connie Helmer�icks, who, at the age of 22, chose to sojourn into the wil�derness of Alaska, above the Arctic Circle, and live off the land. Aspen was accompanied by her first husband-to-be Phil; her harsh, relentlessly honest journal depicts two stoics who ate salted and dried horse meat, berries, eve�n under miserable circumstances raw, rubbery moose that contained 'the wriggly pearl of a maggot.' The couple encountered no other humans for almost a year, and in that time the author sought the 'essence of experience . . . that elusive something that makes the world sparkle.' Aspen believed that civilization snatches away more than it gives in return: 'I'm not certain that all our toys are worth what we pay for them.' Rather, she endured the brutal weather and exalted when the sun returned after a 60-day absence: 'Life isn't safe, no matter how carefully you plan. . . . You may as well enjoy the ride.' Aspen's journey isn't pretty reading, but her voice is memorable and her endurance marvelous. --PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Full of fine sense details . . . fascinating reading . . . joins that scant handful of good books by women about the challenge and hard-won joy of bush life lived to its fullest. --THE ANCHORAGE TIMES

Full of fine sense details . . . fascinating reading . . . joins that scant handful of good books by women about the challenge and hard-won joy of bush life lived to its fullest. THE ANCHORAGE TIMES

This stark, philosophical work chronicles Aspen, an artist and daughter of the author-adventurer Connie Helmer icks, who, at the age of 22, chose to sojourn into the wil derness of Alaska, above the Arctic Circle, and live off the land. Aspen was accompanied by her first husband-to-be Phil; her harsh, relentlessly honest journal depicts two stoics who ate salted and dried horse meat, berries, eve n under miserable circumstances raw, rubbery moose that contained 'the wriggly pearl of a maggot.' The couple encountered no other humans for almost a year, and in that time the author sought the 'essence of experience . . . that elusive something that makes the world sparkle.' Aspen believed that civilization snatches away more than it gives in return: 'I'm not certain that all our toys are worth what we pay for them.' Rather, she endured the brutal weather and exalted when the sun returned after a 60-day absence: 'Life isn't safe, no matter how carefully you plan. . . . You may as well enjoy the ride.' Aspen's journey isn't pretty reading, but her voice is memorable and her endurance marvelous. --PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Full of fine sense details . . . fascinating reading . . . joins that scant handful of good books by women about the challenge and hard-won joy of bush life lived to its fullest. --THE ANCHORAGE TIMES

Author Information

Jean Aspen holds baccalaureate degrees in biology and nursing. Her classic books and the documentary she and her husband produced form a lifetime tapestry centered on wilderness. They live in Alaska and continue to spend much of each year afoot in nature. See more at www.jeanaspen.com and their ARCTIC SON Facebook page.

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