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421 reviews for:
Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube: Chasing Fear and Finding Home in the Great White North
Blair Braverman
3.89 AVERAGE
421 reviews for:
Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube: Chasing Fear and Finding Home in the Great White North
Blair Braverman
3.89 AVERAGE
Blair Braverman is WAYYY more of a badass than I will ever be!
This memoir recounts Blair Braverman's love affair with the Arctic. From an early age, Blair is drawn to the North. In high school she completes a year-long exchange program in Norway; in college she works at a remote dog-sledding tour company situated on an Alaskan glacier; and over the years she spends severals months living in Malangen, Norway and working in her friend Arild's shop.
Her experiences are not for the faint of heart. The remarkable beauty of the landscape stands in contrast to the fact that it's basically trying to kill you. In one memorable account, Blair describes her overnight drive through a blizzard on a dogsled with only one other companion, as they tried to reach shelter.
An unfortunate throughline to the book (and to most women's life experiences, frankly) is the threat of sexual violence. Many of the men Blair meets let her know in both subtle actions and candid statements that they could take advantage of her if they wanted to. This attitude seems to be heightened by the culture of the Far North, which is sometimes described as a no-man's-land but in reality seems to be a man's land. Grappling with trauma in this unforgiving climate seems impossible, but Blair's resilience and strenght are inspiring.
I also enjoyed learning about the in's and out's of surviving in the Far North. A wool sweater is essential. The passages about Arild and life in Malangen were often heartwarming and interesting. Sleeping on a glacier sounds like one life experience I don't need to try. In all, a well-written and fascinating memoir.
This memoir recounts Blair Braverman's love affair with the Arctic. From an early age, Blair is drawn to the North. In high school she completes a year-long exchange program in Norway; in college she works at a remote dog-sledding tour company situated on an Alaskan glacier; and over the years she spends severals months living in Malangen, Norway and working in her friend Arild's shop.
Her experiences are not for the faint of heart. The remarkable beauty of the landscape stands in contrast to the fact that it's basically trying to kill you. In one memorable account, Blair describes her overnight drive through a blizzard on a dogsled with only one other companion, as they tried to reach shelter.
An unfortunate throughline to the book (and to most women's life experiences, frankly) is the threat of sexual violence. Many of the men Blair meets let her know in both subtle actions and candid statements that they could take advantage of her if they wanted to. This attitude seems to be heightened by the culture of the Far North, which is sometimes described as a no-man's-land but in reality seems to be a man's land. Grappling with trauma in this unforgiving climate seems impossible, but Blair's resilience and strenght are inspiring.
I also enjoyed learning about the in's and out's of surviving in the Far North. A wool sweater is essential. The passages about Arild and life in Malangen were often heartwarming and interesting. Sleeping on a glacier sounds like one life experience I don't need to try. In all, a well-written and fascinating memoir.
This book is gritty and raw. About self-discovery and maturity and feminism. I blew through this. Braverman has a way of making the mundane poignant, and I loved her perspective.
adventurous
funny
informative
medium-paced
A very interesting recollection of one’s personal experiences in the Arctic. As other reviewers have stated, it is much more about the author’s coming of age and acceptance of self than the landscapes she braved. I will say, there were enough stories of the wild to keep the story interesting. Ultimately, not my favorite. But I like how the author brought the story full circle and left me feeing wholesome at the end.
I tend to find memoirs fall into two categories: those by authors who have led interesting lives, but who don't write especially well, and those by authors who are so skilled they can turn the mundane into a thought-provoking, page-turning work of literature. Blair Braverman is the rare writer who accomplishes both. She also manages the astonishing feat of making her experiences startlingly relatable. While I've never lead a sled dog team, her accounts of sexual awakening, violence, and the dull threats women face were as much a part of her adventures as learning to mush. This memoir helped me see my own similar experiences navigating a man's world as its own adventure, full of threats, lessons learned, and exhilarating thrills. Navigation here is the key word— and Braverman makes a compelling case for the complexities of finding your place in the world, whether you are literally orienteering your way out of a nighttime blizzard or struggling to make sense of a deepening relationship. A deceptively simple and astonishing memoir. I can't wait to read what Braverman writes in the future.
Blair Braverman's name has a pun in itself. She is 'brave'. Get it?
Though my guess is she would dislike anyone picking on her name to say, she is as 'brave as a man'. This is because she has lived a life where she has proved (to herself) & the larger world around her that she can do a lot of things most of us would not think a girl should live or go through. In fact it is a life a city dweller like myself can only think or fantasize. Life in great white north; Alaskan glaciers & Arctic Norway.
What attracted me to this book was actually the part about great white north and only when I started reading it, I realised that it is less about north and more about self-discovery of this amazing young girl who is pushing her own boundaries. She is an exchange student in rural Norway then she enrolled herself to go through an Arctic survival training course in the north farther than that we can imagine. Post education, she worked in a very small & remote community store in Norway, trained the sled dogs, reared sheep and is currently winning sled dog races while living in USA. This book is her growing up and accepting her potential in a man's world where she was often verbally and sexually harassed before being accepted in men's society. A very important part of the book is her coming to terms with an old relationship in which she was abused sexually.
Blair Braverman is one bad-ass girl and all I could think on finishing this book was, 'You Go Girl!'
Though my guess is she would dislike anyone picking on her name to say, she is as 'brave as a man'. This is because she has lived a life where she has proved (to herself) & the larger world around her that she can do a lot of things most of us would not think a girl should live or go through. In fact it is a life a city dweller like myself can only think or fantasize. Life in great white north; Alaskan glaciers & Arctic Norway.
What attracted me to this book was actually the part about great white north and only when I started reading it, I realised that it is less about north and more about self-discovery of this amazing young girl who is pushing her own boundaries. She is an exchange student in rural Norway then she enrolled herself to go through an Arctic survival training course in the north farther than that we can imagine. Post education, she worked in a very small & remote community store in Norway, trained the sled dogs, reared sheep and is currently winning sled dog races while living in USA. This book is her growing up and accepting her potential in a man's world where she was often verbally and sexually harassed before being accepted in men's society. A very important part of the book is her coming to terms with an old relationship in which she was abused sexually.
Blair Braverman is one bad-ass girl and all I could think on finishing this book was, 'You Go Girl!'
I'm not a huge connoisseur of memoirs, but this is a particularly good one, with wild, remote adventures, great storytelling, and an engaging journey of self-discovery. Braverman's twitter feed and columns have always been a treat, and I'm glad I finally rescued this book from the to-be-read stack!
I really love the author's essays and Twitter thoughts, so I was surprised by how much this didn't work for me. Much more of a readalike for Tara Westover than Cheryl Strayed... missed the notes of deep empathy and humanism that characterize so much of her other writing for me. Interesting but Not For Me. (But if you loved Educated this may well be For You!)
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced