Memoir

Wildlife biologist Caroline Van Hemert discusses her book The Sun Is A Compass, A 4,000-Mile Journey into The Alaskan Wilds. Caroline Van Hemert has written an incredible book, from the first paragraph to the last. At this event, she will discuss writing The Sun Is a Compass and offer a slide presentation. The Sun Is a Compass has received glowing reviews "A riveting book full of birds, danger, beauty, and wonder. Van Hemert’s intrepid travels with her equally adventurous husband left me breathless with awe."—Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus; "An edge-of-your-seat thrilling read. My favorite book of 2019, and one the best Alaskan books I have ever read."—Eowyn Ivey, author of The Snow Child. Caroline Van Hemert received her PhD from the Dept. of Biology and Wildlife at University of Alaska Fairbanks, with a research focus on avian health and disease.

Dan L. Walker presents Letters from Happy Valley, Memories of an Alaska Homesteader’s Son Fifty years after leaving the family homestead in Happy Valley, Alaska, Dan Walker unexpectedly received a shoe box full of letters penned in 1958 by his parents as they traveled from Sugar Tree Ridge, Ohio, to build a new life on the Last Frontier. In Letters from Happy Valley, Memories of an Alaska Homesteader’s Son, Dan Walker rediscovers and honors his Alaska roots and the life lived before his father's untimely death, which instigated his family to move to Government Hill. “Emotional, unforced, and grounded, Letters from Happy Valley is destined to be an Alaska classic.”—Nick Jans, contributing editor to Alaska magazine and author of A Wolf Called Romeo “A literary triumph, Letters from Happy Valley demonstrates Walker’s unsurpassed ability to bring to bold life his family’s Alaska pioneering history in a manner both informative and riveting. It will be no surprise to me should this book become a beloved north land classic.” —Dan Seavey, author of The First Great Race: Alaska’s 1973 Iditarod Dan L. Walker has over thirty years in education and his consulting work has taken him throughout Alaska from Anchorage to Barrow and Perryville to Sitka where he works with principals, teachers, and students. He was named as Teacher of the Year for Alaska in 1999.

Carla Williams presents Wildcat Women, Narratives of Women Breaking Ground in Alaska’s Oil and Gas Industry. The book, Wildcat Women documents the life and labor of pioneering women in the oil fields of Alaska’s North Slope. It profiles 14 women while exploring an untold history of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. “These trailblazers faced down challenges on and off the job: they drove buses over ice roads through snowstorms; wrestled with massive pipes; and operated dangerous valves that put their lives literally in their hands; they also fought union hall red tape, challenged discriminatory practices, and fought for equal pay—and sometimes won”. Carla Williams, raised in Crosby, Minnesota, lived for forty years in Alaska. She received a Bachelor of Arts in English from University of Alaska Fairbanks and spent most of her career working in Alaska’s oil and gas industry.

In the new book, We Have Not Stopped Trembling Yet, Letters to My Filipino-Athabascan Family, E.J.R. David shares intimate letters written to his Filibaskan (Koyukon Athabascan and Filipino) family. In these letters, he addresses the need to nurture connectedness, strength, freedom, and love, in order to heal the injuries endured from historical and contemporary trauma and oppression. E. J. R. David is Associate Professor of Psychology at UAA and Director of the Alaska Native Community Advancement in Psychology (ANCAP) Program. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Psychology from UAA and his Master of Arts and Doctoral degrees in clinical-community psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. E. J. R. David is the author of Brown Skin, White Minds: Filipino -/ American Postcolonial Psychology, The Psychology of Marginalized Groups, and The Psychology of Oppression. In 2014, he was honored by the Alaska Psychological Association with the "Cultural Humanitarian Award for Exemplary Service and Dedication to Diversity”, and in 2015 he was inducted as a Fellow by the Asian American Psychological Association for “Unusual and Outstanding Contributions to Asian American Psychology.”

At the event "On the Frontiers of an Inner Life: Kathleen W. Tarr presents Thomas Merton's 1968 Journey to Alaska", author Kathleen W. Tarr discusses her newly released book, We Are All Poets Here (VP&D House). Part memoir, part biography, with Thomas Merton as the spiritual guide, the quest to seek an interior life amidst a chaotic, confused, fragmented world is explored. Trappist Thomas Merton (1915-1968) lived as a sequestered monastic for 27 years. However, he wrote over fifty books and hundreds of poems and articles on topics ranging from monastic spirituality to civil rights, nonviolence, and the nuclear arms race. Today, his 1948 autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, continues to influence millions of people all over the world. After his surprise sojourn to Alaska in 1968, Thomas Merton traveled to Thailand where he met his accidental and shocking death by electrocution. Author Kathleen WitkowskaTarr was born and raised in Pittsburgh. She came to Alaska in 1978 and lived in Yakutat, Sitka, and the Kenai Peninsula, and was Program Coordinator for UAA's MFA Graduate Creative Writing Program. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from The University of Pittsburgh and has writings published in several anthologies and in Creative Nonfiction, the Sewanee Review, Alaska Airlines Magazine, the Anchorage Daily News, TriQuarterly, Sick Pilgrim, and Cirque. In 2016, she was named a William Shannon Fellow by the International Thomas Merton Society. Currently, she sits on the board of the Alaska Humanities Forum. All UAA Campus Bookstore events are free and

Chantelle Pence, Fred John Jr., Karen Evanoff and Floyd Guthrie, discuss the task of recovering our human nature, as a collective people. Indigenous perspectives are often not recognized or acknowledged in modern day life, yet, they provide guidance and pathways for walking as a true human being, which is everyone's birthright. Chantelle Pence is author of Homestead Girl: The View From Here, a patchwork quilt of poetic essays that covers the human condition, from the perspective of a woman who came of age in rural Alaska. The short prose pieces are stitched together with a thread of love for our ancestral heritage, and a prayer that the people of Alaska, and beyond, will pay attention to the earth based cultures that are rapidly changing. Guest speakers include Elder Fred John, Jr. was born in Susluta Alaska to the last traditional chief of Mentasta, Fred John, Sr. and Native rights advocate Katie John. Karen Evanoff is from Nondalton. She is a Cultural Anthropologist for Lake Clark National Park and editor of Dena'ina Ełnena, A Celebration: Voices of the Dena'ina (NPS). Floyd Guthrie is a leader in the Alaska Native community and the Alaska Native sobriety movement. He is a graduate of the University of Washington, a past appointee to the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet, and a Vietnam Veteran with over 30 years of therapeutic experience.

Alaskan author Lizbeth Meredith shares her emotional international journey to rescue her kidnapped daughters.  Within her quest, the unveiled truth within abusive relationships is explored as she traverses the challenges of her story, mirroring her own childhood experiences. Joining Lizbeth Meredith is Tradition Bearer Elsie Boudreau. Elsie Boudreau is Yupik from the Village of S. Mary. She was the first to bring a civil lawsuit against Father James Poole and a key figure in the film, The Silence. This event is sponsored with AWAIC, YWCA, AHF, Green Dot, Victims For Justice, and UAA Pre-Law Society.

In his memoir, Sandra's Hands, A Reflective Journey from the Vietnam War to the Siege of Wounded Knee, Paul Berg explores his experiences in the Vietnam War and working as a teacher on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. After 1973, when tensions on the reservation exploded and culminated in the 72 day siege of the village of Wounded Knee, Paul Berg finds himself drawn into the conflict as he strives to provide quality education to his students. Given this experience and his dedication to education, he becomes a recognized national expert in cross-cultural education and establishes, with Bill Demmert and Richard Dauenhauer, the first cross-cultural education course required for teacher certification in Alaska. At thuis event, the effects of education policies in Alaska are addressed.

Miranda Forner presents Can I Do This, a collection of essays covering her experiences becoming an independent, single mother in Alaska. Born and raised in Alaska, Miranda has lived in Sitka, Ketchikan, Petersburg, and Kodiak. She is a Cub Scout Den Leader and has graduated UAA with a major in English and a minor in creative Writing. Joining Miranda is her son, Charlie, who shares his experiences with his mom in Cub Scouts.

Alaskan journalist, playwright, and documentary-maker, David Holthouse shares his work; discusses finding, reporting and writing stories; and fields questions about how writing goes When the Going Gets Weird, the Weird Turn Pro. (Hunter S. Thompson. Skin heads, drugs, street life, rape and good writing are discussed at tbis event. Towards the end of his talk he recites Outting the Bogeyman, his personal essay that is the theme of the play Stalking the Boogeyman.

Alaskan authors Charles Wohlforth, Debra McKinney and Kaylene Johnson-Sullivan discuss he numerous challenges faced in co-writing another’s life story. Charles Wohlforth co-authored To Russia With Love, An Alaskan’s Journey (Victor Fischer); Debra McKinney co-authored Beyond the Bear How I Learned to Live and Love Again after Being Blinded by a Bear (Dan Bigley), and Kaylene Johnson-Sullivan co- authored Our Perfect Wild: Ray and Barbara Bane's Journeys and the Fate of the Far North. (Ray Bane) • Charles Wohlforth has authored of more than 10 books including The Whale and the Supercomputer and the book The Fate of Nature: Rediscovering Our Ability to Rescue the Earth. His column appears three times weekly in the Alaska Dispatch and he hosts radio shows on Alaska Public Media. • Debra McKinney is a renowned Alaskan writer and journalist. A long time contributor to the Alaska Daily News, her articles can be found in the Anchorage Press and Forum, the Magazine of the Alaska Humanities Forum. • Kaylene Johnson-Sullivan is Executive Director Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area. She is author of 5 books including Canyons and Ice, the Wilderness Travels of Dick Griffith; A Tender Distance: Adventures Raising My Son in Alaska; and Trails Across Time: History of An Alaska Mountain Corridor. Her articles have appeared in Alaska Magazine and the Los Angeles Times.

Mike Gordon, of Chilkoot Charlie's fame, shares stories about his life, Alaska, mountain climbing and personal challenges. From arriving in Seward in 1953, to creating an internationally known nightclub, to summiting the highest mountains on six continents, to finishing a Master’s degree at Alaska Pacific University, to keeping a marriage of thirty-two years, life seems idyllic. However, underneath his quite public successes are stories that acknowledge the many low places in his life and include how he ultimately manages to face his personal demons and put necessary priorities in order.

Peter Dunlap-Shohl’s graphic novel, My Degeneration: A Journey Through Parkinson’s explores what it is like living with Parkinson’s and the numerous mental and physical changes brought on by the disease. Besides being a memoir, it explores new ways one can view the world and have a decent quality of life with the disease. According to author Tom Kizzia, Peter Dunlap-Shohl “tells the tale of his fast-changing reality with compassion and wicked humor, leaping from one crazily inventive work of art to the next.” Peter Dunlap-Shohl worked as a cartoonist for the Anchorage Daily News for twenty-five years. He has won various prizes including the First Amendment Award from the Alaska Press Club. His memoir will be an Alaskan classic for generations to come.

Chuck Sassara, a longtime Alaskan, former legislator, pilot, and businessman, shares his life and adventures at this event which also features his book Chuck Sassara’s Alaska – Propellers, Politics and People. From his arrival in 1955 with his wife Ann, through Alaska statehood and resource development, Chuck’s stories are told with humor, excitement, adventure and daring. His memoir is an Alaskan treasure.

Kaylene Johnson-Sullivan discusses her book Our Perfect Wild Ray and Barbara Bane's Journeys and the Fate of the Far North. And joining Kaylene, via Skype, is Ray Bane. The book, Our Perfect Wild, examines the life of Ray and Barbara Bane who in the 1960s worked as teachers in Barrow and Wainwright, Alaska. A decade later, Ray’s dedication to the Alaska Native subsistence lifestyle leads him to work for the National Park Service as a park planner for Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve and many other National Parks in Alaska. A memorable moment at the event is when Ray tells his story about his added thumb. (46:28-53:04) Note, this is not for squeeminsh ears. Our Perfect Wild is published by University of Alaska Press. Kaylene Johnson-Sullivan is also author of the highly acclaimed books Canyons and Ice, the Wilderness Travels of Dick Griffith and A Tender Distance: Adventures Raising My Son in Alaska.

At this event, Dick Griffith shares stories and photos of his journeys and his exploration and mapping of canyons and creeks in Chihuahua, Mexico in 1952. According to Jon Krakauer, “Griffith is simply afflicted with an irresistible inclination to attempt what others say can’t be done. When asked what possesses a man to repeatedly strike out alone across hundreds of miles of rugged, lonely country, he replies, Every so often, it’s just time to walk.” (Note: another event podcast called Canyons and Ice is also posted in this collection.)

Ioana Lobontiu explores in writing and photography her return to Romania, her childhood memories and the overall theme “reality in relation to nostalgia”. Her UAA Honors class project, from which this presentation is taken, consisted of 5 essays about her home in Romania accompanied by photographs. “The ultimate intention of this project is to explore the concept of individual nostalgia vis à vis places that on their own seem to have no significance. In other words, I hope to capture many stories from what are probably, even now to me, completely foreign places”. The podcast for the event is also posted in iTunes.

Ioana Lobontiu explores in writing and photography her return to Romania, her childhood memories and the overall theme “reality in relation to nostalgia”. Her UAA Honors class project with Prof. Don Rearden, from which this presentation is taken, consisted of 5 essays about her home in Romania accompanied by photographs. According to Ioana, “The ultimate intention of this project is to explore the concept of individual nostalgia vis à vis places that on their own seem to have no significance. In other words, I hope to capture many stories from what are probably, even now to me, completely foreign places”. The presentation slides for this event are also posted in iTunes.

Steve Heimel has been a senior reporter and producer for the Alaska Public Radio Network and host of its call-in show, Talk of Alaska. At this event, his memoir in progress and insights about life, journalism and people will be shared. Excerpts from his memoir in progress (till 56:35) is followed by a Q & A period. Note, gaps in sound are due to lack of microphone usage.

Linda Dunegan explains the Whistleblower Act, describes what happened to her career, and encourages people to continue to stand up for what is right. Lt Col. Ret. Linda Dunegan, PhD, MS, MHSA, MMO, MAC is author of the book The Price of Whistleblowing. Linda Dunegan was a Medical Administrative Officer. The Medical Readiness Officer, Credentials Manager, Safety Officer, and Chief of Administrative Services in the Alaska Air National Guard. During her 27-year military career, she became one of the highest ranking female officers in the Alaska Air National Guard. Her job was to make reports and investigate potential violations of law within the Air Force. Because she reported deficiencies in the Alaska Air National Guard Executive Management Committee, she encountered a hostile workplace and chose to retire.

Former Anchorage mayor Rick Mystrom presents his books My Wonderful Life with Diabetes and the book What Should I Eat? Everyone is invited to learn about diabetes and how health challenges that can be overcome. (The audio podcast of the event is also posted in iTunes)

Former Anchorage mayor Rick Mystrom discusses his books My Wonderful Life with Diabetes and the book What Should I Eat? Everyone is invited to learn about diabetes and how health challenges that can be overcome. (The presentation accompanying the event is also posted in iTunes)

The book, The Stolen Years, is the story of John Wight, an Anchorage pilot originally from South Africa, who is falsely accused of espionage in Madagascar. How he survives seven years of imprisonment, from 1977-1984, is explained in this captivating book written by his wife, Jean Wight. Currently, John Wight is Associate Professor of Aviation Technology at UAA.

The book, The Stolen Years, is the story of John Wight, an Anchorage pilot originally from South Africa, who is falsely accused of espionage in Madagascar. How he survives seven years of imprisonment, from 1977-1984, is explained in this captivating book written by his wife, Jean Wight. Currently, John Wight is Associate Professor of Aviation Technology at UAA.

Dave Atcheson discusses his memoir Dead Reckoning, Navigating a Life on the Last Frontier, Courting Tragedy on its High Seas. “It’s a story in which college students and “fish hippies” work in canneries alongside survivalists, rednecks, religious freaks, and deckhands with damning secrets in dangerous waters, driven by the need to feed an insatiable appetite for adventure.” Dave Atcheson works at Kenai Peninsula College. He is also the author of Hidden Alaska: Bristol Bay and Beyond and the guidebook Fishing Alaska's Kenai Peninsula. Photographer Jeff Schultz discusses Chasing Dogs – My Adventures as the Official Photographer Alaska’s Iditarod. “Since 1982, Schultz has served as Iditarod’s official photographer, traveling by plane, snow machine, snowshoes, and on foot to capture the race as no one else has…Over the course of his thirty-plus-year career, Schultz has become as iconic as the race itself, having experienced the same harsh trail conditions and weather hazards as the race participants while artfully chronicling their journeys. “ Jeff Schultz is also the author of Dogs of the Iditarod.

Mike Holloway becomes the adopted grandson of elders Johnny and Sarah Frank. What he learns in Gwich'in Country marks his life forever. He becomes a renowned orthopedic surgeon working with the Peace Corps and at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage. (Note: there are sound gaps during the discussion period.) This is an extraordinary event! Joining Mike for readings is his companion and wife, Margie Gibson.

In Canyons and Ice, Kaylene Johnson recounts the wilderness adventures of Dick Griffith who, for over six decades, journeyed across Alaska, Canada, Mexico, and the American West. This event focuses on Dick's walks through arctic Alaska. Kaylene Johnson is author of five books about Alaska including her memoir A Tender Distance: Adventures Raising My Son in Alaska. Note: another event with Dick Griffith ,recorded in October 2015 called Time to Walk, focuses on Dick Griffith's treks through the Chihuahua, Mexico in 1952. It is also in this podcast collection.

John Tippets presents Heart of Courage: The Gillam Plane Crash and the Amazing True Story of Survival in the Frozen Wilderness of Alaska. This is the amazing true account of the 1943 Gillam plane crash in the wilderness of southeast Alaska. Based on the first-hand descriptions of his father, the 5 passengers endured sub-zero temperatures and scarce food for 29 days until a dramatic rescue saved them

Leigh Newman, author of the memoir "Still Points North", and Sherry Simpson, author of "Accidental Explorer" and associate professor in the UAA MFA Program, discuss being raised in Alaska and the role Alaska played in shaping their adult lives.

Midnight Sun Arctic Moon is the story of Mary Albanese’s life when she came to Alaska at age 22 in 1977. Instead of becoming a rural Alaskan school teacher she obtained her master's degree in Geo-sciences from UAF. Her adventures as a geologist-- mapping and naming unexplored areas of Alaska--are captivating and exciting .

Dan Bigley and journalist Debra McKinney are co authors of Beyond the Bear, the story of Dan’s brutal bear attack and dramatic rescue. Written with respect for bears, the book describes the extraordinary life Dan has lived after surviving 5 surgeries, being a father and living with blindness. Besides the fascinating details, Debra McKinney’s unusual gifts that capture the core essence of people are well illustrated.

Dr. Nancy Sydnam is a retired family physician who has been practicing in Alaska since the 1950s and has helped bring over 1000 Alaskan babies into the world. Sideways Rain is about her experiences providing medical services out on the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands, working with both telemedicine and the physicians assistants and nurse practitioners. Dr. Nancy Sydnam is an emphatic observer of human nature. In journal entries, letters and poems she writes with deep affection about the landscape, and the people she encountered on her hazardous routes. Joining her at this event is Dr. Diddy Hitchins.

The life story of J. Holger Christensen as told to Vaughn Sherman, takes us from his birth in 1906 at Nome to a high seas career rising from ordinary seaman to master mariner. His adventures as a deck officer in the Aleutian Islands and the Bering Sea and his reminiscences about maritime life in Puget Sound during 1930's and 1940's make this book unforgettable!

To Russia with Love is the story of Vic Fischer's extraordinary life, Historic figures fill his memoir and included remembrances of his parents-- the American journalist Louis Fischer and Russian writer Markoosha Fischer--and childhood friends who end up at opposing sides of the front during WWII. Vic Fischer's life in Washington, D.C., the writing of the Alaska Constitution, his personal dreams and beliefs make this book simply fascinating.

Howard weaver's talk was organized by the Alaska Press Club and hosted at the UAA Campus Bookstore. Journalist Howard Weaver was born in Anchorage and began writing for the Anchorage Daily News in 1967. He worked as a police reporter, court reporter, legislative correspondent, daily columnist, managing editor. He led the Anchorage Daily News to Pulitzer Prizes--in 1976 for coverage of the Alaska Teamsters Union during construction of the trans-Alaska pipeline and in 1989 for coverage of alcoholism and suicide among Alaska Natives. His accolades include service as a Pulitzer Prize juror, being a member of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, and acting as co-chair of the international association of northern editors, the Northern News Service. In 1998 he was named by an Alaska Public Radio Network survey as one of the 40 most influential Alaskans in the state's first 40 years of history. Write Hard, Die Free is his just released memoir. This event is sponsored with the Alaska Press Club

Colleen Mondor learned to fly at age eighteen and has degrees in aviation, history and northern studies. Her book, The Map of My Dead Pilots, is based on her experiences as lead dispatcher at a Part 135 (commercial) air carrier based in Fairbanks. "The 'Company' had bases in multiple bush locations and flew single-engine, multi-engine and twin turbine aircraft carrying everything from scheduled passengers and mail to convicts and sled dogs. There were incidents and accidents, moments of Pythonesque absurdity and brain-numbing hard work. It was never the profession I learned about in the classroom nor the glory stories so popular in modern myth…It is the story of the people who worked at one Alaskan commuter and the culmination of my efforts to understand how commercial pilots live and die in the Last Frontier. “

Writer Steve Kahn is a lifelong Alaskan and former hunting guide who lives a subsistence based lifestyle in Lake Clark, Alaska. His writings can be found in the anthologies Wild Moments and Crosscurrents North. In The Hard Way Home: Alaska Stories of Adventure, Friendship, and the Hunt, he shares intimate stories of his life throughout Alaska. From author Karsten Heuer, "Blood-stained and brisk one moment, reflective and reverent the next, these stories remind us of the riches that await whenever we we step away from the overwhelming technology and materialism of modern life."

Twenty years after the Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef, sixty-two men and women share personal stories of what they saw, how they reacted, and how they coped with North America's worst tanker oil spill...Reliving their experiences are fishermen, Native villagers, biologists, environmentalists, sociologists, Exxon executives, the governor, mayors, journalists, workers who washed oily rocks even the skipper of the ill-fated ship. The Spill is co-edited by Stan Jones, a founding member of the Prince William Sound Citizen Advisory Board and Sharon Bushel, author of We Alaskans.

Willie Hensley is known in Alaska as being a founder for the Northwest Alaska Native Association, NANA Corporation, Alaska Federation of Natives, and having been a member of the Alaska State Legislature for ten years. His beautifully written memoir, Fifty Miles from Tomorrow, incorporates the richness of Inupiat culture and traditions. those that permeate time and place. This book is more than one person's story but the story of Alaska and how people have coped with drastic changes. Introducing Willie Hensley is Paul Ongtooguk.