Ice Bound: A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole
- Book Review,
by Dr. Jerri Nielsen, et al
Amazon.com
Serving as doctor to the Americans "wintering over" at the South Pole in 1999, Jerri Nielsen made headlines when she discovered a lump in her breast that a self-administered biopsy revealed to be an aggressive, fast-growing cancer. No flights in or out of Antarctica are possible during the continent's long winter, and Nielsen's account of giving herself chemotherapy while she and her fellow "Polies" waited for the weather to break is even more gripping than the news reports at the time. She's candid about her pain and fear; the media battle waged by her embittered ex-husband makes her ordeal even more challenging. Interestingly enough, however, this high drama does not overshadow Nielsen's deeper narrative of a woman who came "to the Ice" seeking new meaning in a life shattered by divorce and estrangement from her children. In the back-to-basics world of Antarctic medicine, with outdated equipment, few supplies, and no assistants, she rediscovered her vocation as a doctor, free from the imperatives of corporate-directed medicine. More importantly, Nielsen found spiritual solace in the world's most extreme environment, where she was "introduced slowly to the notion of giving more than you have and using less than you need ... of knowing that all you really own are your own thoughts." She makes the glories of the Pole so palpable that, by the end, readers will not even be surprised when she signs an e-mail to her family, "from the wonderful Ice." --Wendy Smith
From Publishers Weekly
Nielsen spent the better part of 1999 as the physician for a team of 41 research scientists and their support group at the South PoleDa place that is completely unreachable for nine months of the year. To "winter" at the bottom of the world risks one's life; in addition, Nielsen was solely responsible for caring for the physical and emotional health of all the other "Polies." Yet, as she writes in a strong, lucid voice, she never felt afraid; in fact, as Nielsen became "of the Ice"Da transformation that brings incredible clarity about what's most important in this life, one that unites the Polies in a life-and-death symbiosis in a place where resources are severely limited and the pristine beauty is incomparableDshe felt safer than she had ever felt since childhood. Through power outages, fires and equipment failures, Nielsen found courage, until the dayDdeep into the pitch-black winterDshe absentmindedly discovered a hard mass at the top of her right breast. Harnessing the love, skills and intelligence of her fellow Polies, and by consulting with experts in the U.S. via satellite and e-mail, Nielsen conducted a biopsy on herself, using ice as an anesthetic, and completed several rounds of chemotherapy before she could be rescuedDin a daring presummer attempt. Captivating and incisive, Nielsen does not present a memoir about illness; instead, this excellent book is about life, work and the depth of human resiliency and love. (Jan.) Forecast: Nielsen's work is on a par with the best of the popular survival genre. First serial rights have been sold to Talk magazine, and A&E is including Nielsen's story in its Biography series. Interviews have been scheduled with Diane Sawyer, Good Morning America and Elle magazine. All that adds up to a bestseller. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-In this riveting first-person account, Nielsen describes her work as a doctor and her fight with breast cancer at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. An emergency-room physician in a major hospital, the author was burned out and broken by an abusive husband and bitter divorce. An advertisement for a job in Antarctica caught her attention and soon she was getting her bearings at the South Pole. In the first half of the book, the author does a wonderful job of describing the frozen world under the geodesic dome and the tribal existence of 41 people living on a frozen plateau in complete darkness and total isolation. In the second section, Nielsen describes her realization that she had breast cancer and that she must turn to the outside world for help. Through heart-wrenching e-mails, she plotted a course of action with a doctor in the United States. She taught a team of mechanics, welders, and other Polies to perform a biopsy and give her chemotherapy. When that failed, in a massive global effort, she was evacuated. An easy read with an engrossing story in an unforgiving setting, this is also a story of growth, endurance, teamwork, and survival.-Jane S. Drabkin, Chinn Park Regional Library, Prince William, VACopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
It was splashed across every newspaper in 1999 a woman doctor in Antarctica finds a lump in her breast and after performing her own biopsy realizes that she has a particularly aggressive form of cancer. But no planes can land during the long winter months, and she must administer her own chemotherapy. That woman was Nielsen, and this is her story of her battle with cancer and the extreme conditions of the South Pole. Alone and scared, Nielsen describes the feelings that washed over her that long winter. Part adventure story, part journal of self-discovery, her book is written in an easy-flowing narrative voice. She regales us with tales of parties like the one celebrating her 47th birthday and then horrifies us as she recounts how she e-mailed her family when she found the lump. No matter what the passage, Nielsen mesmerizes readers as she carries them along for a ride of a lifetime. Recommended for all libraries. Stephanie Papa, Baltimore Cty. Circuit Court Law Lib. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From AudioFile
Jerri Nielsen's story of survival is actually three stories of survival intertwined. The first one is her escape from an emotionally abusive marriage and her attempts to retain a relationship with her children. The second is the story of surviving at the South Pole. And the third is her battle with breast cancer. Clearly, the third, featuring an Air National Guard airdrop of chemotherapy supplies late in the Antarctic winter, is the most compelling. But it is the second, life at the South Pole, that is the most interesting. Her descriptions of the eclectic mix of people who make up the polar over-winter crew are fascinating. Given the strength of the story, then, it is unfortunate the author isn't as good a reader as she is a storyteller. Her clinical tone fails to capture the excitement she feels at the strangeness of the polar world. And she has an unfortunate habit of pausing in the middle of a sentence as though she were turning the pages of her book. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
The New York Times Book Review
"Nielsen is a hero. Ice Bound takes its place among the great Antarctic adventure stories."
Diane Sawyer, on Larry King Live
"It is the most moving, most American, most profoundly inspiring story I have encountered in so long."
Elle
"A fast-paced, engaging book. Nielsen gives a gripping account of life at the South Pole."
Chicago Tribune
"[A] remarkable book...a fascinating sociological study."
Book Description
Jerri Nielsen was a forty-six-year-old doctor working in Ohio when she made the decision to take a year's sabbatical at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station on Antarctica, the most remote and perilous place on Earth. The "Polies," as they are known, live in almost total darkness for six months of the year, in winter temperatures as low as 100 degrees below zero--with no way in or out before the spring. During the long winter of 1999, Dr. Nielsen, solely responsible for the mental and physical fitness of a team of researchers, construction workers, and support staff, discovered a lump in her breast. Consulting via email with doctors in the United States, she performed a biopsy on herself, and in July began chemotherapy treatments to ensure her survival until condition permitted her rescue in October. A daring rescue by the Air National Guard ensued, who landed, dropped off a replacement physician, and minutes later took off with Dr. Nielsen. This is Dr. Nielsen's own account of her experience at the Pole, the sea change as she becomes "of the Ice," and her realization that as she would rather be on Antarctica than anywhere else on earth. It is also a thrilling adventure of researchers and scientists embattled by a hostile environment; a penetrating exploration of the dynamics of an isolated, intensely connected community faced with adversity; and, at its core, a powerfully moving drama of love and loss, of one woman's voyage of self-discovery through an extraordinary struggle for survival.
About the Author
Dr. Jerri Nielsen lives in Ohio and is the mother of three children. She continues to practice medicine and intends to do a lot of traveling.
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