It Happened Like This: A Life in Alaska
“In the wild, something inside me opens to innovation, inspiration, creativity, and imagination. It’s a good feeling, one that leaves me light and full of energy, free to imagine who I want to be in this life. . . . Yet it’s slippery and ephemeral, and I can never seem to pack it out with me.”
—Adrienne Lindholm

It Happened Like This is, on the surface, a memoir about what it means to live and love in one of the wildest places on the planet. But the love described is not a simple one; it’s a gritty, sometimes devastating, often blood-pumping kind of feeling played out in the rugged Alaska wilderness.

In an authentic and honest voice, writer Adrienne Lindholm recounts her move to Alaska as a young woman eager to begin her career in environmental and wildlife studies. She finds herself initially out of her depth among her peers, many of whom are also “Outsiders,” new to the state, but who seem more experienced, more confident. Eventually she finds her way, immersing herself in the rigors of wilderness adventures and building a community of outdoorsy friends to sustain her. Soon she falls in love with JT and gradually, at times painfully, they build a life together and decide to start a family amidst the wild.

Adrienne celebrates the many ways in which Alaska, and her outdoor adventures there, inspired self-discovery, as well as revealing her difficult and intimate journey into motherhood. Her love story encompasses the outline of massive mountains on the horizon, viewed for the first time; a caribou moving through an alder forest; the effort to climb a glaciated peak; and the peace that settles when contemplating a quiet Arctic lake. At times, her love—for JT, but also for nature and life—also feels savage, like when she charges onto a glacier alone, or when she shoots, kills, and skins her first animal.

With It Happened Like This, readers take an intimate, gently humorous, and occasionally adrenalin-spiked journey into adulthood, and into the depth and comfort of wilderness.
1128015402
It Happened Like This: A Life in Alaska
“In the wild, something inside me opens to innovation, inspiration, creativity, and imagination. It’s a good feeling, one that leaves me light and full of energy, free to imagine who I want to be in this life. . . . Yet it’s slippery and ephemeral, and I can never seem to pack it out with me.”
—Adrienne Lindholm

It Happened Like This is, on the surface, a memoir about what it means to live and love in one of the wildest places on the planet. But the love described is not a simple one; it’s a gritty, sometimes devastating, often blood-pumping kind of feeling played out in the rugged Alaska wilderness.

In an authentic and honest voice, writer Adrienne Lindholm recounts her move to Alaska as a young woman eager to begin her career in environmental and wildlife studies. She finds herself initially out of her depth among her peers, many of whom are also “Outsiders,” new to the state, but who seem more experienced, more confident. Eventually she finds her way, immersing herself in the rigors of wilderness adventures and building a community of outdoorsy friends to sustain her. Soon she falls in love with JT and gradually, at times painfully, they build a life together and decide to start a family amidst the wild.

Adrienne celebrates the many ways in which Alaska, and her outdoor adventures there, inspired self-discovery, as well as revealing her difficult and intimate journey into motherhood. Her love story encompasses the outline of massive mountains on the horizon, viewed for the first time; a caribou moving through an alder forest; the effort to climb a glaciated peak; and the peace that settles when contemplating a quiet Arctic lake. At times, her love—for JT, but also for nature and life—also feels savage, like when she charges onto a glacier alone, or when she shoots, kills, and skins her first animal.

With It Happened Like This, readers take an intimate, gently humorous, and occasionally adrenalin-spiked journey into adulthood, and into the depth and comfort of wilderness.
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It Happened Like This: A Life in Alaska

It Happened Like This: A Life in Alaska

by Adrienne Lindholm
It Happened Like This: A Life in Alaska

It Happened Like This: A Life in Alaska

by Adrienne Lindholm

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Overview

“In the wild, something inside me opens to innovation, inspiration, creativity, and imagination. It’s a good feeling, one that leaves me light and full of energy, free to imagine who I want to be in this life. . . . Yet it’s slippery and ephemeral, and I can never seem to pack it out with me.”
—Adrienne Lindholm

It Happened Like This is, on the surface, a memoir about what it means to live and love in one of the wildest places on the planet. But the love described is not a simple one; it’s a gritty, sometimes devastating, often blood-pumping kind of feeling played out in the rugged Alaska wilderness.

In an authentic and honest voice, writer Adrienne Lindholm recounts her move to Alaska as a young woman eager to begin her career in environmental and wildlife studies. She finds herself initially out of her depth among her peers, many of whom are also “Outsiders,” new to the state, but who seem more experienced, more confident. Eventually she finds her way, immersing herself in the rigors of wilderness adventures and building a community of outdoorsy friends to sustain her. Soon she falls in love with JT and gradually, at times painfully, they build a life together and decide to start a family amidst the wild.

Adrienne celebrates the many ways in which Alaska, and her outdoor adventures there, inspired self-discovery, as well as revealing her difficult and intimate journey into motherhood. Her love story encompasses the outline of massive mountains on the horizon, viewed for the first time; a caribou moving through an alder forest; the effort to climb a glaciated peak; and the peace that settles when contemplating a quiet Arctic lake. At times, her love—for JT, but also for nature and life—also feels savage, like when she charges onto a glacier alone, or when she shoots, kills, and skins her first animal.

With It Happened Like This, readers take an intimate, gently humorous, and occasionally adrenalin-spiked journey into adulthood, and into the depth and comfort of wilderness.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781680511345
Publisher: Mountaineers Books, The
Publication date: 07/31/2018
Pages: 208
Product dimensions: 5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Adrienne Lindholm lives in Eagle River, Alaska, where she oversees the Wilderness Stewardship Program for the national parks in Alaska. Since 2000 she has worked for the National Park Service as a backcountry ranger, park planner, compliance officer, and natural resource manager. She is also a mother, speaker, and writer.



In addition to a memoir about thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, she’s the author of several backpacking guidebooks, and her essays and articles have appeared in a variety of magazines and literary journals. She is inspired by wild unhindered places, the flash of wonder in her daughter’s eyes, and passionate friends and strangers who work to create a more compassionate and just world. For more information about Adrienne and her work visit www.adriennelindholm.com.

Table of Contents

Just One Summer 9

Into the Current 27

When You Go into the Country 37

Wolves 48

It Would Help to Have a Boyfriend, Maybe 62

Two Worlds 73

The Edge 82

Roots 92

Caribou 106

Home 115

Desperation 125

Beach Walk 138

Arctic Beauty 143

It Happened Like This 157

Consequences 164

Mystery 176

Wild Grace 187

Avery 193

Acknowledgments 203

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