this is an amazing story about amazing women on an amazing journey. (truly, i'm actually not overusing that word.) it's not well written or all that cohesive and there were plenty of parts i would have liked more information about, but this is still so worth the read. i wish i had known about the trek at the time and could have been following it in real time; still, even years later it's totally inspirational.

as happens whenever i read books like this, most of me is in awe, while simultaneously thinking they're insane to do things like this; but a little part of me is jumping up and down, saying "i want to do that!"

"...Antarctica accounts for more than 70 percent of the world's fresh water."

quoted in this book but taken from Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories That Heal by Rachel Naomi Remen:

"...I had thought joy to be rather synonymous with happiness, but it seems now to be far less vulnerable than happiness. Joy seems to be a part of an unconditional wish to live, not holding back because life may not meet our preferences and expectations. Joy seems to be a function of the willingness to accept the whole, and to show up to meet with whatever is there. It has a kind of invincibility that attachment to any particular outcome would deny us. Rather than the warrior who fights toward a specific outcome and therefore is haunted by the specter of failure and disappointment, it is the lover drunk with the opportunity to love despite the possibility of loss, the player for whom playing has become more important than winning or losing.
"The willingness to win or lose moves us out of an adversarial relationship to life and into a powerful kind of openness. From such a position, we can make a greater commitment to life. Not only pleasant life, comfortable life, or our idea of life, but all life. Joy seems more closely related to aliveness than to happiness." ( )

No Horizon Is So Far is an amazing story of endurance and courage. Two former schoolteachers, American Ann Bancroft and Norwegian Liv Arnesen became the first women to cross the Antarctic in 2001. Over the course of 94 days they walked, skied and ice-sailed, enduring temperatures that went as low as -35 degrees F. Each woman towed a 250 pound supply sledge. The terrain was extremely rough and they were working under a time constraint as they needed to complete their journey before the onset of an Antarctic winter enclosed them in total darkness.

Wanting to show children that dreams can be made to come true, they were able to arrange to have classrooms of kids track their progress and learn about Antarctica. By keeping in touch on a daily basis via satellite phone, there were able to share their adventure with millions. The epilogue of the book is comprised of letters received from teachers and sponsors from around the world expressing how much the students were able take from the women’s experiences and I have to admit I found these very touching.

As a testament to both their inner and physical strength, No Horizon is So Far is guaranteed to induce awe and admiration. Unfortunately I did find the writing style a little choppy and uneven and was not able to give myself up entirely to the story. That said however, what these two women accomplished is definitely worthy of our esteem and makes for an interesting read. ( )

i wasn't going to read the interviews with teachers but it was one of the best parts. they all loved ann who must inspire when she talks more than when she writes--like me. the first part of the book about the prep was not that interesting. ( )

Read review at:
http://letitread.blogspot.com/2010/04/book-review-liv-arnesen-and-ann.html