Winter Walk

Advanced in pregnancy and now newly widowed, Qutuuq sets out with her two children, leaving their camp and following a frozen river to the coast. Homebound, one step at a time, through the subzero wilderness.

This is a chilling, true story dating from 1892. It tells of battles against killing cold, starvation, and exhaustion. It''s the story of a haunting decision made in the throes of desperation. And ultimately it''s a story of survival and triumph amid unspeakable sorrow.

More than a century later, Qutuuq''s story, which has descended through her Inupiat Eskimo family as oral history, is retold in print by her great-granddaughter.