North of ordinary How one woman left it all behind for wilderness and wonder in Alaska's frozen frontier

Alaska's harsh conditions mirror a woman's emotionally barren childhood in this intense debut memoir from Aikens, star of National Geographic's Life Below Zero. Growing up in the 1960s and '70s with a distant mother who bounced between partners, Aikens learned self-reliance early. She didn't ask many questions when her mother suddenly moved the family to Alaska--she just recalled the wilderness lessons she'd received from a Dakota elder whom she befriended while living in the Midwest. As Aikens unpacks the scars of her childhood, which left her with the "emotional capacity of a Ritz cracker," she recalls moving to the Lower 48 and marrying two men in the 1980s, working as a trapper in Alaska, and finding peace by living in a remote campground in Alaska's North Slope. Highlighting both the beauty and the heartbreak of bone-deep solitude, Aikens's account captures the rugged appeal of life off the grid despite harrowing challenges, including a near-fatal bear attack ("Nothing on this earth can prepare you for the sound of your own skull cracking in the jaws of a grizzly"). Readers will find this exciting and uplifting. Agent: Byrd Leavell, UTA. (Mar.)

This captivating travel memoir by Aikens, star of the long-running National Geographic Channel TV series Life Below Zero, originates from her strong personal connection to Alaska as a place to fully live and experience all the danger and beauty the world has to offer. After her dysfunctional childhood, it was Alaska where she honed her survival skills and resilience. In the author's account of her journey from childhood to adulthood, readers can vicariously experience her many trials and ordeals, as well as her ultimate successes. So committed was Aikens to the idea of Alaska that she sacrificed her safe, comfortable life in Portland with an extraordinarily supportive husband and equally supportive teenage children. After moving to Kavik, a remote area 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle, Aikens revels in the climate's harshness as she resolutely lives on her own terms. She also reveres the unique beauty and the tranquility of the snowbound landscapes and dark winter nights as her personal refuge of serenity and a place to escape from the chaos and expectations of the wider world. VERDICT Anyone would enjoy this book, whether they're attracted to or mystified by the allure of life in the Arctic.--Karen Bordonaro