Tide, Feather, Snow: A Life in Alaska

by: Miranda Weiss

Published by: Collins, an imprint of Harper Collins

Reviewed by Diane A Brown

Alaska from the inside out….

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live on the Alaskan Frontier, to leave the modern world behind and step back into the pages of history? Tide, Feather, Snow is one woman’s experience that leaves a definite impact.

You will receive a plethora of information that will likely surprise, enrich, and fill your imagination beyond belief. The beauty of nature at its finest is detailed, broad and bluntly portrayed, as survival of the fittest always wins. The harsh elements will never be tamed, but the value of experience and hands-on learning can mean the difference between life and certain death.

Homer is a small Alaskan town at the end of the road. Miranda shares her thoughts, daydreams, and reality through vivid writing, as well as painting mind pictures that you can see, here, feel, touch and smell as you walk along her path. She shares openly her daily routines of gathering food in the spring, summer and fall to prepare for the harsh winters that lie ahead. Lacking confidence in many areas, Miranda relies on her boyfriend, books and old timers to gain the wisdom needed to keep on going where many others return stateside. Miranda is faced with many challenges. Determined one moment and confused the next, her life is filled with emotional and physical roller coasters.

I found Tide, Feather, Snow packed with unique information from which I gained new insight into life in Alaska. However, the writing style felt disconnected. One paragraph or two we would be off on an adventure or facing a new challenge–then memories of another time or experience would intrude for several paragraphs–and then back to the adventure. Even though the writing was very descriptive and informative, it felt like I was reading in a monotone. The same scenes were often described over and over with slightly different perspectives.

Tide, Feather, Snow allows the restless spirit to experience the cold, hard realities of life on the edge of the Alaskan frontier.

Armchair Interviews says: A good story that might be helped with some more editing insights.

Author’s Web site: http://www.MirandaWeiss.com