ICE BOUND A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole

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 [Published: JUN/JUL 01]