Synopses & Reviews
The chronicle of a family's first year alone in Alaskan wilderness, Arctic Son is a poetic journey of discovery into what we value in life. In 1992 Jean Aspen and her husband, Tom, left Arizona and took their young son to live in Alaska's interior wilderness, building a cabin out of logs, hunting for food, and letting the vast, harsh beauty of the Arctic close in around them. While Jean had faced Alaska's wilderness before in a life-altering experience she described in Arctic Daughter, this journey would be different. Dogged by sickness and hardships, cut off from the rest of the world, her family faced not only a test of endurance, but of its own well-being and survival. From a daily struggle against the elements to an encounter with a grizzly bear at arm's length, from moments of breathtaking beauty and self-realization to a harrowing, six-hundred-mile river passage back to civilization, Arctic Son chronicles fourteen remarkable months in the Alaskan wilderness. At once a portrait of courage and a heart-pounding adventure story, Arctic Son portrays a family's extraordinary journey into America's last frontier.
Review
“Jean Aspen helps us believe in the power of our dreams . . . her description of the fragile but magnificent beauty of the Arctic and the life she found there grabs your heart until you start wondering if maybe its time to leave it all behind and follow your own dreams.”
—Barbara Wieser, coauthor of Rivers Running Free: Stories of Adventurous Women
Review
"Vividly rendered . . . unflinching . . . I was grateful . . . for the directness and honestly of this author's voice."--New York Times Book Review
Review
"A stirring adventure, well told. Jean Aspen and her family's journey offers hope that dreams, wilderness, and family still hold value."--Robert Perkins, author of Into the Great Solitude
Review
"A must read for any parent (and their children) who has ever contemplated the wonder of nature."--Jonathan Waterman, Author
Synopsis
The chronicle of a family's first year alone in Alaskan wilderness, here is a poetic exploration into what we value in life. In 1992 Jean Aspen took her husband, Tom, and their young son to live in Alaska's interior mountains where they built a cabin from logs, hunted for food, and let the vast beauty of the Arctic close around them. Jean had faced Alaska's wilderness alone before in a life-altering experience she shared in ARCTIC DAUGHTER: a Wilderness Journey. Cut off from the rest of the world for more than a year, now her family would discover strength and beauty in their daily lives. They candidly filmed themselves and later produced a companion documentary, ARCTIC SON: Fulfilling the Dream, which shows on PBS stations across the nation. From an encounter with a grizzly bear at arm's length to a challenging six-hundred-mile river passage back to civilization, ARCTIC SON chronicles fourteen remarkable months alone in the Brooks Range. At once a portrait of courage, a lyrical odyssey, and authentic adventure, this is a family's extraordinary journey into America's last frontier. Follow them at www.jeanaspen.com
Synopsis
Arctic Son: Fulfilling the Dream has been/can be seen on these PBS stations: AK-360-North PBS Alaska (state wide) AZ-AZPM Arizona/Tucson FL-WEDU Tampa, FL IA-Iowa Public Television (state wide) KY-KET Lexington, KY ME-MPBN Maine (state wide) MI-WGVU Grand Rapids, MI MN-TPT Twin Cities ND- NDPB N. Dakota (state wide) OH-CET/Think tv Dayton OR-SOPTv Southern Oregon SD-SDPB S. Dakota (state wide) VT-VPT Vermont (state wide) WA-KSPS Spokane, WA WY-WYOPT Wyoming (state wide)
About the Author
Jean Aspen is the oldest daughter of Connie and Bud Helmericks. Her father was legendary as the first arctic bush pilot, big-game guide, and oil company consultant. Connie wrote eight books, including Flight of the Arctic Tern, which is about their Cessna 140 bush plane, and Down the Wild River North, about a canoe journey she took with Jean and her sister in the Canadian arctic in the 1960s. Jean is the author of Arctic Daughter and Arctic Son. She lives in Homer, Alaska, with her husband, Tom Irons, but they spend three months of every year in the Alaskan wilderness.