While many people dream of abandoning civilization and heading into the wilderness, few manage to actually do it. One exception was twenty-four-year-old Elliott Merrick, who in 1929 left his advertising job in New Jersey and moved to Labrador, one of Canada’s most remote regions. First published by Scribner’s in 1933, True North tells the captivating story of one of the high points of Merrick’s years there: a hunting trip he and his wife, Kay, made with trapper John Michelin in 1930. Covering 300 miles over a ...
While many people dream of abandoning civilization and heading into the wilderness, few manage to actually do it. One exception was twenty-four-year-old Elliott Merrick, who in 1929 left his advertising job in New Jersey and moved to Labrador, one of Canada’s most remote regions. First published by Scribner’s in 1933, True North tells the captivating story of one of the high points of Merrick’s years there: a hunting trip he and his wife, Kay, made with trapper John Michelin in 1930. Covering 300 miles over a harsh winter, they experienced an unexplored realm of nature at its most intense and faced numerous challenges. Merrick accidentally shot himself in the thigh and almost cut off his toe. Freezing cold and hunger were constant. Nonetheless, the group found beauty and even magic in the stark landscape. The couple and the trappers bonded with each other and their environment through such surprisingly daunting tasks as fabricating sunglasses to avoid snow blindness and learning to wash underwear without it freezing. Merrick’s intimate style, rich with narrative detail, brings readers into a dramatic story of survival and shares the lesson the Merricks learned: that the greatest satisfaction in life can come from the simplest things.
Elliott Merrick was born in Montclair, New Jersey, the son of a New York-commuting executive. After graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy and Yale University, Merrick took a job as a reporter with the Passaic Daily News. In 1928 he became assistant advertising manager for the National Lead Company, his father’s company, but Merrick seemed to have nature in his blood and, in 1929, he left the business world behind and joined the Grenfell Mission in Labrador, Canada, as a summer WOP (Worker without Pay). He loved Labrador and its people and was able to stay in the region by taking a teaching assignment for the Mission in Northwest River. It was there that he met and fell in love with the Mission’s resident nurse, Australian-born Kate (Kay) Austen, whom he married in 1930. They lived for a brief time in a small cabin near the current site of the huge Goose Bay Airport. After a number of adventures in Labrador, the Merricks returned to the United States, living in New Jersey and Vermont during the middle of the depression. Elliott Merrick later taught English at the University of Vermont. He is the author of seven other books, including the best-selling Northern Nurse.
January 6
In those books of Arctic exploration that Stefansson describes as mere catalogs of hardships, there are seldom any accounts of the inconvenience of a nose, particularly a runny nose. Perhaps a nose is hardly suited to tales of Arctic feats. One wonders how Inuit manage their noses so well, how it is in the long years of evolution that they have not contrived to grow fur on them or lose them entirely. The greatest hardship of the trip to me is a raw, red nose that drips like some damp rock in a cave, simply from the cold, not from a cold. No one ever has a cold on trips like this. Colds grow only in places where every known means of science is organized to prevent them.
Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked,
or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to
Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original
and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you
and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not
violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help
ensure that your review can be posted.
Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13
We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer.
However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or
to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.
What to exclude from your review:
Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the
information on the product page, please send us an email.
Reviews should not contain any of the following:
- HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
- Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
- Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
- Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
- Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
- Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
- Advertisements or commercial solicitation
Reminder:
- By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its
sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the
review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
- Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly
those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com
also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
- See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend
Create a Pen Name
Welcome, penname
You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Overview