What inspired you to write your memoir?
After my father and stepmother were killed by a grizzly bear in Alaska’s Arctic in 2005, I took their same trip the following year, and knew from the beginning I’d want and need to write about it. I didn’t know until later that I would write a book.
About your Book:
After her parents are killed in a rare grizzly attack, the author is forced into a wilderness of grief. Turning to loves she learned from her father, Polson explores the perilous terrain of grief through music, the natural world, and her faith. Her travels take her from the suburbs of Seattle to the concert hall where she sings Mozart’s Requiem, and ultimately into the wilderness of Alaska’s remote Arctic and of her heart.
This deeply moving narrative is shot through with the human search for meaning in the face of tragedy. Polson’s deep appreciation for the untamed and remote wilderness of the Alaskan Arctic moves her story effortlessly between adventure, natural history, and sacred pilgrimage, as much an internal journey as a literal one. Readers who appreciate music or adventure narratives and the natural world or who are looking for new ways to understand loss will find guidance, solace, and a companionable voice in this extraordinary debut.
How did you decide how to publish your book and where is it published through:
The publisher for North of Hope is Zondervan, an imprint of Harper Collins. I was convinced the acquisition editor, an amazing woman named Carolyn, had exactly the right vision for the book, and I think they did a beautiful job!
How do you see writing a Memoir as different from writing other genres of books?
In many ways, memoir isn’t different at all. There is a story and there is a narrative. The difficulty in the writing is that it is about you, and you have to have distance enough to consider and develop yourself (and others you know) as characters, and there are a number of unique challenges in how you deal with people and situations still current but who are also a part of your story. The memoir author also has to prune out a lot that might feel important to you as a person, but that isn’t important to the story. Memoir is a slice of your life not the whole thing. And it’s critical that it appeal to universal truths; the fact that it is your own story, even if it’s interesting, isn’t enough. Other readers need to be able to see themselves in what you write.
Author Bio:
Shannon Polson lives and writes in the Pacific Northwest. She was a contributing writer to More Than 85Broads, and her work has appeared in Seattle and Alaska Magazines, Cirque Journal, Adventure Magazine, and Trachodon, among others. Polson graduated with a B.A. from Duke University in English Literature, an M.B.A. from the Tuck School at Dartmouth, and an M.F.A. from Seattle Pacific University. She served eight years as an attack helicopter pilot in the Army and worked five years in corporate marketing and management roles before turning to writing full time. Polson serves on the board of the Alaska Wilderness League and sings with the critically acclaimed Seattle Pro Musica. She has looked for adventure and challenge anywhere she can find it, scuba diving, sky diving and climbing around the world, including ascents of Denali and Kilimanjaro, and completing two Ironman triathlons. She and her family enjoy backpacking, any kind of skiing, paddling, and spending as much time outdoors as they can in the Western states and Alaska. In September 2009, Polson was awarded the Trailblazer Woman of Valor award from Washington State Senator Maria Cantwell.
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