North of Hope (Book Review)

Grief is something that we all must deal with at various times in our lives. Once you have experienced it, it never truly leaves you. For some of us it is something we once went through that shows up at unexpected times to remind us of its presence. For others it is an everyday companion. Regardless of where we are on that continuum, grief is a part of all of our lives. In her book North of Hope: A Daughter’s Arctic Journey, Shannon Huffman Polson faces her grief head-on after her dad and stepmother are killed by a grizzly bear in the Arctic wilderness. Polson tries to conquer her grief in several ways, including through music, but ultimately she decides that she must finish her parents’ interrupted trip. North of Hope is the story of that arctic expedition and what she finds there.

I was amazed and startled when I read that Polson wanted to go into the wilderness and retrace the trip her parents took.  After all, that trip resulted in the end of their lives. Even Polson herself was not sure why she was undertaking this endeavor, “I wasn’t sure whether I’d come to this wild space to find myself or to lose myself, or whether I had the capacity for either.” She later notes that we often go deep into the wilderness to enjoy its solitude and to connect with “the majesty of creation” where there is not a single unnatural sound. She also chillingly observes that in the deep wilderness, there is “no one to hear you scream.”

So why does she take this trip and does it work in helping her heal her wounds? I will leave that story for Polson to tell when when you read her book, which I highly recommend you do.

I felt incredibly connected to Polson throughout this book. She does an amazing job of illustrating her emotional journey, drawing readers in and inviting them to come along on her journey with her. Her description of grief and of life after the loss of a loved are spot on. I felt the heaviness of her burden. In one example, Polson is asked the questions many of us dread: “Have you moved on?” and “Are you over it yet?” Her response is an internal desire to both scream and whisper that there is no getting over it, at least not how we might think. She writes “It’s like being tackled by something you hadn’t known existed, then lying breathless on the ground, getting up slowly and starting to walk again, alongside this thing, along with this thing.”

Polson writes of human suffering “This pain – and the search for meaning in its wake – is what it means to be human.” If you like a book that stirs you, grips your attention, and leads you on an adventure of significant scale, then you must read this book. North of Hope touched me and helped me on my own personal journey with grief.

Has grief affected your life?  How did you deal with it? Feel free to leave a comment. Share and let’s talk about it.