Product Review

"Arctic Glass: Six Years of Adventure in Alaska and Beyond" is a collection of thirty-three essays from the popular outdoor lifestyle blog "Jill Outside." In 2005, Jill Homer launched her online journal, originally titled "Up in Alaska," with the intent to document daily adventures from the perspective of a small-town journalist who recently moved to the Last Frontier.

Anecdotes about quirky Alaskan customs grew into musings about maintaining an active lifestyle during the long winters of the far north. Jill's early accounts of cycling misadventures drew readers from all over the world, who were curious about the strange notion of "snow biking." The blog quickly took on a life of its own as readers encouraged Jill to pursue a burgeoning interest in this esoteric extreme sport. What followed is a transformation that few could have predicted €" Jill's development into an endurance athlete who crossed 350 miles of Alaska€s frozen wilderness under her own power, went on to complete a 2,700-mile mountain bike race, and eventually took up ultramarathon-distance trail running.

This anthology compiles the best essays of "Jill Outside" from the thousands of posts that have appeared on the Web site, with commentary to provide a succinct timeline of events. The essays chronicle the adventures of an unlikely athlete who takes on harsh challenges in the frozen wilderness of Alaska, the Utah desert, and the Himalayas of Nepal. Endurance racing, overcoming seemingly impossible challenges, and self-actualization amid stunning outdoor landscapes are common themes in these compelling vignettes about "The Adventure of Life."

The writer has been praised for her ability to draw readers directly into the vivid heart of her adventures, whether or not they possess an interest in running a hundred miles in temperatures well below zero, or simply want to disappear for a few minutes into the stark white dreamscape of frozen Alaska. Jill Homer writes from the perspective of an ordinary woman, the kind of nonathletic person who was content to remain unnoticed in the background, but who is driven by awe and love of beautiful landscapes to pursue extraordinary feats.