Boundless: Tracing Land and Dream in a New Northwest Passage

Winter's profound and lyrical memoir of a transformative journey, which was shortlisted for the 2014 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction, begins with a surprising coincidence. A week after taking a friend's advice to always to have a travel bag packed, Winter (Annabel) is offered a place on a ship going through the Northwest Passage. She travels from Toronto to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, where the ship begins its journey north through the Davis Strait. At sea, Winter realizes that "there is no line or corner in a wave, no way for cares of the world to hook or snag you." The book is a series of evocative stories centered on Winter's memories, fellow passengers, experiences on the trip, and the subjugation of aboriginal culture by Europeans; through them all, Winter expresses a sense of wonder that she is in "a hiding place of mysteries." At many of the stops, the group walks, encountering the land and wildlife. On each successive walk, Winter increasingly comes to believe that the land can speak to her, and that she can listen and hear with a new sense beyond the usual five. Of all the kindred spirits Winter meets on this extraordinary journey, she writes most powerfully of the land. Agent: Shaun Bradley, Transatlantic Agency. (Oct.)