In 2015, in a tragic natural disaster, a massive avalanche descended on the small Arctic Norwegian city of Longyearbyen, Svalbard, leveling eleven houses and killing a child and a young father. In this arresting book, journalist Line Nagell Ylvisåker explores the effects of a warming planet up close and personal, from inside a remote community intimately attuned to its environment.
 
Ylvisåker introduces readers to her friends and neighbors, including dedicated meteorologists racing to anticipate future disasters and a veteran trapper who harbors doubts about climate change even as he bears witness to a constantly shifting landscape. Blending memoir, long-form journalism, and scientific reportage, she provides an intimate picture of life in a place where the effects of climate change can be seen in all their startling reality—and a compelling and hopeful argument for collective and cooperative action across the globe.
 
Contributor Bio(s)
 
Line Nagell Ylvisåker is an editor, journalist, and writer living in the high Arctic. She has received several writing awards over her years working for Svalbardposten, where she now serves as editor in chief. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Oslo and has given lectures on climate change.
Kelsey Camacho is a writer and translator who guides expeditions, cares for sled dogs, and leads local writing workshops. Her work can be found in Nowhere Magazine, Bitch Media, Entropy, Portland Review, and elsewhere. Originally from North Carolina, she’s based in Longyearbyen, Svalbard.