Early on in my husband’s military career, he got super into watching all the “Alaska” shows. You know the ones I’m talking about: Alaskan Gold Rush, Alaska: The Last Frontier, Alaska State Troopers, etc…. I remember he was watching Gold Rush one night and he said, “You know, we could put in to be stationed in Alaska.” I immediately said, “No way. I never want to live in Alaska! It’s cold and dark and looks like the worst.” Well, fast forward about 7 years and, surprise! We got orders to Alaska. Not just Alaska….to Fairbanks, Alaska. When we told people we were moving to Fairbanks, their eyes would get real big and say “Ooh, that’s the cold one.” Of course we knew that. And of course we were, well, terrified, haha. We had 9 months to prepare for life in Alaska. We started watching all the documentaries and reading all the blogs. We were following all the Facebook pages and watching the weather. But nothing can prepare you for life in Alaska. Let’s face it. Nothing can prepare you for even visiting Alaska. And it’s not because it’s cold and dark and scary. (I mean, if we’re being honest, all of those things can be true sometimes.) But Alaska is such a raw and majestic place that is truly hard to explain to those who haven’t experienced it. It took us a minute to get our bearings but once we figure out what life here is all about - being connected to the land around us, embracing the wildness and understanding that we are all visitors here - Alaska has truly grabbed a hold of our hearts. When we first got here, someone told us that Alaska will be what we compare everything else to for the rest of our lives and now that we’re getting ready to close this chapter, we can’t help but agree. Last year, we visited Chicken, Alaska. Chicken is a quirky little town, 100 miles from the nearest services. It has less than 20 year-round residents and it still an active gold mining town. If anyone wants to visit true, rugged, Alaska, I would definitely add Chicken onto the list of must-visit places. Once we got home and posted about our experience on social media, I had a few comments from followers saying that their favorite book is about Chicken! I was immediately intrigued and had to read this book myself. I visited our local library and realized that there’s a whole wall dedicated to “Alaskana” books and I was hooked. Now, I’m not an avid reader in this era in my life, but over the next year I would be reading books about Alaska just to connect more with the culture and history of this amazing place. And that brings us to this list that I’ve put together: 6 books to read about Alaska if you really want to get a sense of the culture, the lifestyle, and the people who live here. 1 - TishaNumber one on the list, I’ve already kind of touched on, is called Tisha as told to Robert Specht. This book was published in 1976 and is based on the true story of Anne Hobbs. She was 19-years-old when we accepted a teaching position in the gold rush town of Chicken, Alaska. The book follows her experience of teaching the children of the area for a year. It talks about the struggles she went through in her travels to such a remote area. It talks about the issues she faced when trying to integrate the native children into her classroom. It explains how she arrived as a “cheechako” or newcomer “greenie” and left as a “sourdough” or an experienced Alaskan. It even brings in a sweet love interest. It’s such a good story and gives great insight into how life was like during the gold rush. Although, that can be interpreted loosely because Chicken is still like how it is described in the book - with no electricity (other than what can be sourced from a generator, no running water unless you can ship it in from the nearest town, the local cafe/saloon/other businesses take payment in cash, credit, and gold, and mail is still delivered only once a week, but not by sled dog. It’s flown in on a mail plane. There are many people who still live the rural life all over Alaska, and “Tisha” is a great book to read to gain a little more understanding on what that looks like for those living in interior Alaska. 2 - Searching for Fannie QuigleyThe next book I read that makes this list is called Searching for Fannie Quigley by Jane G. Haigh. This book is another book that highlights life during the gold rush but it is more of a historical text than a story to read. Fannie Quigley was a true, rugged, pioneer woman in the early gold rush days of Alaska. She ended up building a homestead in what is now Denali National Park and was visited by many notable people whom she always treated to a full and hearty meal. My favorite part of the book was her recipe for blueberry pie, for which she was famous. It explains her process from start to finish: Pick five-gallons of blueberries in August. Pan for gold before the creeks run dry. Shoot a bear in early fall. Hitch up the sled-dogs for a 15 mile run into the valley for firewood before the snow comes. Render the bear fat. Make another sled dog run 125 miles into town to get flour, sugar, and supplies for the year. Be careful not to get it wet on the way home or it will all by ruined. Use the bear lard to make a dozen pie crusts. Make the pie filling with your blueberries, sugar, and a little flour. Store them frozen in the permafrost behind the cabin. “When company comes, go out and get a pie out of the tunnel. It will taste as good as fresh and astonish your guests.” There are many legends about Fannie Quigley and the author of this book set out to get to know more about the facts of who Fannie was and where she came from. One thing is for sure, she was a special woman and is the epitome of strength and grit that people need to survive here, even to this day (though we do have access to more amenities if we so choose ;) A fun side note, Fannie is buried in Fairbanks in the Birch Hill Cemetery. We definitely had to visit her grave after I read this book. 3 - Braving ItAfter reading a few more books, the next book that makes this list is called Braving It by James Campbell. This is a true story about a father and a daughter who have some epic Alaskan experiences starting in the early 2000s. James Campbell has written for many publications including National Geographic Adventure. In this book, he shares about taking his daughter to visit his friend who lives in the Alaskan bush with his family and needs help rebuilding their cabin during the quick Alaskan summer. James and his daughter decide to visit again in the winter and they end up helping on the trap lines and learning even more about survival in the dangerous and beautiful wilderness. The book ends with yet another trip to Alaska when James and Aiden embark on an amazing rafting trip through interior Alaska. 4 - If You Live Here, I'd know your nameI did read a few more books about Alaska but the next book that makes this list is called “If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name” by Heather Lende. Heather Lende writes the obituaries and the social column for the local newspaper in Haines, Alaska. Haines is a tiny coastal town, 45 miles from the Canadian Border. Haines was actually one of the first places we visited in Alaska when we took the ferry here in 2019 so it was fun to have the connection when reading this book. Heather does a beautiful job painting the picture of modern life in small town Alaska. Living in such rural areas can be so incredibly isolating from family and even modern comforts sometimes but what is sacrificed in those ways is made up for with the strong sense of community and “family” connections that are built here. This book gives an incredible insight into the issues and struggles that Alaskans deal with that are unique to most other parts of the world. 5 - The Year of miss agnesThe next book I read that makes this list is a little different in that it’s a youth fiction. It’s called The Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill. It’s about a unconventional and progressive teacher who actually comes to teach in a remote Alaskan native village. My daughter actually read this book (who was in 3rd grade at the time) and I had to take a peek since I was on an Alaskan reading kick ;) One of the things that stood out to me in this book was that the kids would learn from Miss Agnes and report back to their parents who were shocked to learn about WWII happening in a world that they were so isolated from! They had no idea, even though WWII had a lot of happenings in Alaska! It just goes to show how massive Alaska is and just how remote some of the towns and villages are. Miss Agnes changes the lives of everyone in the town and it’s just such a cute little book. 6 - Two Old WomenThe last book in this list is another easy read called Two Old Women by Velma Wallis. This story is actually inspired by an Athabaskan legend and is a survival story of two elder women in a tribe in Northeastern Alaska. Their tribe is suffering through a hard winter and make the heart wrenching decision to abandon these old women when they feel like they can’t take care of them anymore. The women have to lean on each other an their roots if they want to survive. It’s a riveting and empowering story, that again, brings readers more understanding of the strength and ruggedness that Alaska demands. There are so many books about Alaska, even more well-known ones that I read, but this short list are, in my opinion, the best. I think what I liked most about them all is that all the of the authors are either from Alaska, or they have a lot of experience here so instead of romanticizing the wilderness, the writing is real and raw and just…true! So take it from a local, whether you live here, or you’re visiting and want to know a little more, these books are must reads!! If you are are visiting and you’re interested in a one-on-one chat to help plan a custom trip to Alaska, check out our options here! Do you have an Alaska book you love? I wanna know! Let me know what it is in the comments. Make sure to pin so you can come back to this post! Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram or TikTok for some of our day-to-day adventures and until next time, get out and explore where you live!
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