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Arctic Daughter
The child of a famous female explorer describes her own journey down the Yukon to the Chandalar River with her childhood sweetheart, recounting their experiences living off the land in the remote Brooks Range. Reprint. PW.
304 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1993
26 people are currently reading
324 people want to read
About the author
Jean Aspen
3 books16 followersMy life began in the Arctic wilds. My adventurous parents filmed documentaries and my mother, Constance Helmericks, wrote bestselling books about their lives. When I was twenty-two, I returned to Alaska’s remote Brooks Range with a friend. In the spring of 1992 we paddled down the Yukon River and pulled our loaded canoe up a tributary into the mountains. Here we built a cabin and spent much of four years living from the land. This is the story of my first book, Arctic Daughter: a Wilderness Journey, which became a Reader’s Digest selection.
I have always belonged to wilderness. As I matured, I yearned to share the beauty and freedom of this life with my husband, Tom Irons, and our young son, Luke. In 1992 we invited a woman friend to join us for fourteen months alone in the wilds. My second book, Arctic Son: Fulfilling the Dream, tells of building our cabin beside the river of my youth, and of our month-long canoe journey back to civilization the following summer. We recorded our lives and later produced a documentary that has shown on PBS stations across the nation.
Now in our late sixties, Tom and I make our home in a small Alaskan town, and still migrate back to our cabin each spring for three months afoot in the wilds. I will soon publish my memoir, Trusting the River and we are editing the second in a trilogy of documentaries about our lives.
Our purpose is to encourage others to responsibly embody their deepest longings, to be gracious to one another, and to honor our Planet home. I have a baccalaureate degree in biology with honors in English, and one in nursing. You may read more about our lives and see photos at http://www.jeanaspen.com.
Wild Blessings,
Jeanie Aspen 2016
I have always belonged to wilderness. As I matured, I yearned to share the beauty and freedom of this life with my husband, Tom Irons, and our young son, Luke. In 1992 we invited a woman friend to join us for fourteen months alone in the wilds. My second book, Arctic Son: Fulfilling the Dream, tells of building our cabin beside the river of my youth, and of our month-long canoe journey back to civilization the following summer. We recorded our lives and later produced a documentary that has shown on PBS stations across the nation.
Now in our late sixties, Tom and I make our home in a small Alaskan town, and still migrate back to our cabin each spring for three months afoot in the wilds. I will soon publish my memoir, Trusting the River and we are editing the second in a trilogy of documentaries about our lives.
Our purpose is to encourage others to responsibly embody their deepest longings, to be gracious to one another, and to honor our Planet home. I have a baccalaureate degree in biology with honors in English, and one in nursing. You may read more about our lives and see photos at http://www.jeanaspen.com.
Wild Blessings,
Jeanie Aspen 2016
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
April 16, 2008
Definitely a respectable adventure story - at the tender ages of 22 and 24 the author and her partner went to live in the arctic, utterly unsupported, for 4 years. i was turned off by the language of extreme supporters/adventures that often sounds clique-ish and makes me picture tam-wearing white boys with dreadlocks and all the latest gear. Jean Aspen and her partner Phil were not these people, but the language brought them to mind often.
I appreciated the obvious and often stated reverence these folks had for our mother planet. However, the analysis of how people live on the planet in ways that are damaging and where we may have gone wrong is, as Phil points out early on, is sophomoric and limited to the vantage point of young woman of privilege. I was irritated at times as this takes up a good bit of space in the story, but i was compelled to stick with it to the end.
I appreciated the obvious and often stated reverence these folks had for our mother planet. However, the analysis of how people live on the planet in ways that are damaging and where we may have gone wrong is, as Phil points out early on, is sophomoric and limited to the vantage point of young woman of privilege. I was irritated at times as this takes up a good bit of space in the story, but i was compelled to stick with it to the end.
November 16, 2015
In Arctic Daughter, Jean Aspen revisits her salad days in the Brooks Range. Struck chords with me as she was originally so young and idealistic, and the terrain and weather so harsh.
July 16, 2017
A young couple braves the Arctic , traveling in an overloaded canoe with everything they can carry to get them through until they become self sufficient in he wilderness. They rush to get their cabin built and to kill and preserve enough game to get them through the dark and bitter cold moths of darkness. It is not something I yearn to do, but I admired their fortitude and tenacity. Aspen's account is descriptive and poetic at times, but on occasion was peppered with so many adjectives that it became distracting.
September 16, 2020
Jean's experience is worth sharing. She accomplishes a journey 99% of us would never attempt yet its a blast reading about it. Semi-prepared and headed to northern Alaska her and fiance charge up-river from the Yukon to "live off the land" in a true life tale. Although (too) much is written about the topography and activity of the birds, I thoroughly enjoyed their challenges with weather and pursuit of nourishment (food!). Building their cabin in the rough was a hoot! Constantly asking yourself: Could I do this? Probably not! Enjoy the read.
August 15, 2021
Nature weaving
Jean Aspen’s attempt to describe a harrowing nature experience is successful in that she weaves photographic descriptions with intimate conversations that express the deep thoughts arising out of living a life on the edge of the wild. The author’s POV is emotional and doesn’t always show the intense hardships she and her partner must have experienced. A thought provoking experiment with a positive ending.
Jean Aspen’s attempt to describe a harrowing nature experience is successful in that she weaves photographic descriptions with intimate conversations that express the deep thoughts arising out of living a life on the edge of the wild. The author’s POV is emotional and doesn’t always show the intense hardships she and her partner must have experienced. A thought provoking experiment with a positive ending.
January 5, 2024
I enjoyed this book so much. The author gives a real look at the landscapes of the Arctic, the joys and the discomforts. I was on the edge of my seat in places rooting for Jeanie and Phil.
July 5, 2017
A great read about surviving the rough Alaska wilderness in the early 1970s. It's a wonder the author and her partner survived that first winter since they waited so long to build a permanent abode. One aspect
Of the story that greatly bothered me was how they both treated a pup they brought along, both abusing the poor thing. They eventually treated the dog better, but I felt much indignation for the suffering animal.
Of the story that greatly bothered me was how they both treated a pup they brought along, both abusing the poor thing. They eventually treated the dog better, but I felt much indignation for the suffering animal.
August 22, 2007
I love books about travel/adventure . This is a great telling of a young woman's trip in Alaska to live for a year above the arctic circle. She and her boyfriend traveled by raft, built a cabin and hunted and gathered their own food. A must read for those who love back to the land stories.
December 23, 2008
This was a great book. I especially liked the parts about when they killed a moose and had to process all of that meat. A whole other kind of reality than I have ever dealt with. The guy from Into the Wild should have read this book.
October 31, 2007
I loved the author's perspective, beliefs, thoughts + her amazing sense of adventure. Well written & fun to read!
June 25, 2009
living in the arctic is possible if you do it correctly...
January 12, 2010
Loved this book about a couple living in remote Alaska in the 70s. She is a good writer and certainly has an interesting story to tell!
September 24, 2017
Awesome
A very enjoyable story. I hated for the book to end. Felt like I was actually along side the author
A very enjoyable story. I hated for the book to end. Felt like I was actually along side the author
March 1, 2024
Like reading a journal of her adventure. Highly recommend.
September 23, 2025
Arctic Daughter is the first book I’ve read by Jean Aspen. It was a very fast read, and I was captivated the entire time. I’ll admit there are some philosophical ramblings that I didn’t fully connect with, but there were some great reflections that did speak to me. This is a superb story of two young people who might not have survived if not for their dogged perseverance, and stubbornness. I look forward to reading Arctic Son next, as well as trying a book from Jean’s mom, who is referenced throughout Arctic Daughter.
As Jean puts it on page 181, “Life isn’t a book that starts and goes somewhere and ends. I keep waiting for it to all turn out. It’s an experience—an adventure. If there are answers, they can’t be taught—only discovered.”
As Jean puts it on page 181, “Life isn’t a book that starts and goes somewhere and ends. I keep waiting for it to all turn out. It’s an experience—an adventure. If there are answers, they can’t be taught—only discovered.”
February 25, 2026
A little tale of young twenty-something years olds striking out into the wilderness. It contained interesting anecdotes of Alaskan life and wilderness. The writing style was not always my favorite and the tale ended quite abruptly, but it was interesting and imparted a great desire to get out on a camping trip soon and enjoy nature. Special appeal is that I’m related to the partner in the story, so it was some fun family insight.
January 3, 2023
3 1/2 stars
March 16, 2023
I was fortunate to come across this documentary when I had Prime. Loved it, so much of the story has stayed with me with great admiration for this family.
September 2, 2025
Arctic daughter by Jean Aspen is the story of the author and her fiancé taking a boatload of gear to live off the land in the wilderness of the Brooks Range in Alaska. They nearly starve during the first summer as they pulled their boat upstream into the wilderness. Then they fight frostbite and hypothermia in the fall and winter. They kill and butcher four moose in quick succession in the fall to have enough food to survive the winter. They sleep in a tent in subzero temps until they finally build a small cabin and endure temperatures of -60F during the winter. They don’t see the sun for several months and go out frequently in the dark to chop trees for firewood.
In the spring, a plane arrives, sent by the author’s mother to find them, confirm that they survived the winter and to provide a resupply.
The following summer, the pair go on a three-week backpacking trip to climb the divide of the Brooks Range. On their return, they raft down a river they’ve never scouted out with a handmade raft and they nearly die in an unexpected gorge.
They spend the next winter at home in Arizona, but then return to live in the cabin for another four years. Eventually, after they return to civilization, they get a divorce. Twenty years later, the author returns with her second husband and her son, which is the subject of her next book.
In the past, I may have enjoyed such wilderness survival stories more, but perhaps because I’m older, I found much of their story miserable and foolish. Though, admittedly, I would love to visit the wilderness of the Brooks Range, just under less life-threatening circumstances.
In the spring, a plane arrives, sent by the author’s mother to find them, confirm that they survived the winter and to provide a resupply.
The following summer, the pair go on a three-week backpacking trip to climb the divide of the Brooks Range. On their return, they raft down a river they’ve never scouted out with a handmade raft and they nearly die in an unexpected gorge.
They spend the next winter at home in Arizona, but then return to live in the cabin for another four years. Eventually, after they return to civilization, they get a divorce. Twenty years later, the author returns with her second husband and her son, which is the subject of her next book.
In the past, I may have enjoyed such wilderness survival stories more, but perhaps because I’m older, I found much of their story miserable and foolish. Though, admittedly, I would love to visit the wilderness of the Brooks Range, just under less life-threatening circumstances.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2016
I say this with no animosity towards the author; I found myself amazed that they survived.
Apparently Jean Aspen, daughter of a famous Arctic explorer, headed north with her live-in boyfriend to just above the Arctic Circle so that they could live off the land. The book never makes it clear why they did this, although Ms Aspen does go on from time to time about how isolating modern civilization is from 'the real world'.
What was painful to read about was how woefully unprepared they were.
They didn't bring winter boots, for example, but they brought books and plexiglass. They had to scavenge hand tools from an abandoned cabin along the way. They couldn't feed themselves, but they brought along a puppy. At one point they kill a moose and are standing in chest deep freezing river water for days on end butchering the animal. They brought extra clothes, but didn't get them out. Instead they would strip down and stand there naked in the snow while their wet clothes were dried out in front of the fire. They decided to build a cabin in the fiercest part of winter, during a snow storm, in temperatures 150 degrees below the human body.
Then when the cabin is finished, Miss Aspen laments how cut off they are from nature by the four walls. News flash, Miss Aspen; Nature was doing its dead-level best to kill you.
She laments how we build things to make life easier, never considering that the good Lord gave man a brain while he gave the moose fur and the wolf sharp teeth. That's the trade-off It is not a sin, nor an aberration of nature to use reason and invention to increase the odds of your survival. It IS nature.
Apparently Jean Aspen, daughter of a famous Arctic explorer, headed north with her live-in boyfriend to just above the Arctic Circle so that they could live off the land. The book never makes it clear why they did this, although Ms Aspen does go on from time to time about how isolating modern civilization is from 'the real world'.
What was painful to read about was how woefully unprepared they were.
They didn't bring winter boots, for example, but they brought books and plexiglass. They had to scavenge hand tools from an abandoned cabin along the way. They couldn't feed themselves, but they brought along a puppy. At one point they kill a moose and are standing in chest deep freezing river water for days on end butchering the animal. They brought extra clothes, but didn't get them out. Instead they would strip down and stand there naked in the snow while their wet clothes were dried out in front of the fire. They decided to build a cabin in the fiercest part of winter, during a snow storm, in temperatures 150 degrees below the human body.
Then when the cabin is finished, Miss Aspen laments how cut off they are from nature by the four walls. News flash, Miss Aspen; Nature was doing its dead-level best to kill you.
She laments how we build things to make life easier, never considering that the good Lord gave man a brain while he gave the moose fur and the wolf sharp teeth. That's the trade-off It is not a sin, nor an aberration of nature to use reason and invention to increase the odds of your survival. It IS nature.
January 8, 2023
This memoir was written in a haunting, lyrical voice. At times I wished it had been more action and dialogue and less description of the weather. Don’t get me wrong though, it is meant to show the extremes of the weather to understand the hardship this couple endured. Yet, how many times can one describe the sun, the wind, the rain, the snow, and even the river, without it sounding mundane. Even so, there were beautiful lines in this book that really pulled me in and made me feel at one with the environment. I could feel the author’s struggles to stay warm and survive the sub-zero temperatures. Though it did seem rather fantastical that this couple lived off the land for a year, only eating meat that they shot and butchered. The author was an unbelievably strong woman and I admire her courage. If she had never been a Girl Scout, she somehow learned by living in the remote arctic how to be prepared, while also dissecting the meaning of life. I enjoyed the book very much. It’s the epitome of teamwork and resourcefulness. You would really have to like the person you are living with to make this journey!
October 10, 2020
Overall I enjoyed this book, though I wonder how it reads by someone who isn't familiar with the northern Alaska landscape. The author does a decent job highlighting how difficult living off the land can be, and is very honest and truthful in that respect, though at times the read can be pretty frustrating and overall she gets pretty lucky in staying alive throughout her year in the wilderness.
January 21, 2008
Amazing story of a young woman who spent four years in the Alaskan Arctic with her boyfriend in the 1970s and wrote about it years later. I wouldn't have made it past eating the first moose tongue. This goes on my "truly-admirable-but-I'd-never-do-it" shelf.
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October 16, 2011Gets off to a rocky start, but give it 50 pages; she really finds her voice. If you aren't completely engrossed after that, then you're a lost cause. A very quick read about real people on a true adventure.
January 22, 2016
Clearly, an amazing, albeit naive, adventure. The writing is a bit amateurish, but the story is riveting.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews