Ice Bound: A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole

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 In the back-to-basics world of Antarctic medicine, with outdated equipment, few supplies, and no assistants, she rediscovered her vocation as a doctor, free from the imperatives of corporate-directed medicine.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, whose book is a bestseller in print, is not an actress her reading is somewhat awkward and labored. And yet listeners will be glad to feel a sense of personal contact with this extraordinary woman. A physician in her mid-40s, Nielsen decided to serve as the sole medical officer for a year at the South Pole, which meant "wintering over" during the dark months when the pole is physically inaccessible to the outside world. Nielsen's voice remains emotionally uninflected as she describes the beauties of the ice-filled landscape and the delights of working with a wonderfully creative and fun-loving crew of 41 "polies," despite the shortage of medical supplies. Nielsen also refuses to overdramatize her reading when she describes her detection of a lump in her breast, which proved to be cancerous. Listeners will hang on to every word as Nielsen relates how she performed a biopsy and administered chemotherapy to herself. They will also be glad this is unabridged, because every moment she describes, whether of pleasure or pain, is gracefully and unsentimentally limned. Simultaneous release with the Talk Miramax hardcover (Forecasts, Jan. 8). Copyright 2001 Cahners 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
Remote location, extreme weather, and deadly disease these are the obstacles that Nielsen faces in Ice Bound. As part of a research team, her assignment to the Antarctic included an eight-month stretch in which she would literally be cut off from the rest of the world, except for a satellite hook-up that allowed e-mail and intermittent video and audio transmissions. More than half of Nielsen's memoir deals with the events leading up to her decision to volunteer for this adventure, the preparations relating to such a lengthy tour, and the actual drama surrounding her travel to this isolated community. She describes the equality that must exist among everyone at the Pole; as the only doctor, her skills are no more important than those of the mechanic or plant manager. The latter part of the book details her discovery of a lump in her breast and the complications of getting treatment. The majority of her information about the disease and her options comes from e-mail contact with physicians in the United States, who try to advise her based on verbal descriptions of her condition. Despite air-dropped chemotherapy treatments, Nielsen's health deteriorates to the point where a hazardous air rescue is attempted in order to get her out early and save her life. An absolutely riveting account of hardship and perseverance. Highly recommended for all collections. Gloria Maxwell, Penn Valley Community Coll., Kansas City, MO 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


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Diane Sawyer, on Larry King LiveIt is the most moving, most American, most profoundly inspiring story I have encounterted in so long. — Diane Sawyer


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