Description
What is the prescription for finding home in Alaska? Take one young Mennonite girl and transplant her from the flatland prairies of Kansas. Give her village potlatches, school in a Quonset hut, the fragrance of wood smoke, Native friends, a doctor for a father who creates hunting tales and medical adventures with a bush plane, a mother who makes the tastiest moose roasts and has the grit to be a homesteader, and throw in a batch of siblings. Weave into her journey the perspectives of her family members and have them face the lack of conveniences, isolation from extended family, freezing temperatures, and unknown hardships. Mix all these together with an attitude of humor, ingenuity, optimism, and you’ll get a sense of adventure! ‘We come to Alaska for different reasonsjob, love, adventure, a new startor because we’re born here. We stay because we find what we’re looking for in short: home. Home is a sense of fitting in, a feeling rather than a structure of wood and shingles. The Gaede family had many structures to live in, but it took the hard work and sweat equity of the homestead before they found home. Belonging is the theme of Naomi Gaede-Penner’s book Finding Home in Alaska in her Prescription for Adventure series. This book takes a look at the Alaska adventures of the Gaede clan from the points of view of Ruby Gaede and the kids: Naomi, Ruth, Mark, and Mishal.’ Fairbanks News-Miner Naomi Penner is a writer, educator, and speaker with a background in English education and a master’s degree in counseling. She believes everyone has a story to tell and encourages each person to find a medium to express, preserve, and pass along that story. Not only does she write about adventure, she lives it. Check her website for information on new writing projects, promotional events, reading guides, homeschooling materials, and a glimpse of her frequent outdoor adventures: www.prescriptionforadventure.com.
