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Namoi loved to help her grandparents decorate their Christmas tree. She picked beautiful red, green and gold balls out of the box and crystal snowflakes that looked list tiny stars.
Then Namoi found a red and green paper chain in the box. It was a bit tattered, dusty and faded.
Written by Deanne Burch
Illustrated by Peter Trimarco
Published by Noteable Kids Publishing
Deanne Burch
Deanne Burch is the author of Journey Through Fire and Ice: Shattered Dreams Above the Arctic Circle, a memoir that recounts her extraordinary experience at the age of twenty-three when she left her hometown of Toronto with her husband, Ernest “Tiger” Burch, to live in the remote Inuit village of Kivalina, Alaska—83 miles above the Arctic Circle. While Tiger conducted an ethnographic study of the Inuit people, Deanne—young, naïve, and unprepared for the harsh realities of Arctic life—was thrust into a world without plumbing, electricity, or the comforts she had always known. Learning to skin seals, cut beluga and caribou, and endure both the midnight sun and unrelenting darkness, she navigated a culture wary of outsiders while grappling with loneliness and danger. A near-fatal camping trip and a devastating fire that left Tiger badly burned tested her resilience, yet the couple returned to Kivalina to complete their work. The experience transformed her from an uncertain young bride into a woman of strength who carried those lessons throughout her life.
Born and raised in Toronto, Deanne graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts degree and went on to complete her first year of social work, a background that later proved invaluable when she interviewed the women she met during her time in Alaska.
In addition to her writing, Deanne enjoyed a distinguished career as an internationally known photographer specializing in portraits of families and children. She earned her Master of Photography and Craftsman degrees from the Professional Photographers of America, as well as a Fellowship from the British Institute of Professional Photography. Deanne taught workshops in Canada and the United States, published numerous articles in professional journals and magazines, and was an active member of the Society of XXV since its inception. She now holds Emeritus membership in the Society.
Deanne and her late husband, Tiger, lived in several places before settling permanently in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Today, she resides in Lemoyne, Pennsylvania, and is the proud mother of three adult children who live across the country.
Internationally known photographer and author.
Deanne
Book Award Winner: Journey Through Fire and Ice: Shattered Dreams Above the Arctic Circle
By Amberly Finarellie
Nov 8, 2021
Nonfiction Book Award: Gold
At the age of twenty-three, Deanne Burch accompanied her husband, Ernest “Tiger” Burch to the Inuit village of Kivalina, Alaska, a barrier island 23 miles above the Arctic Circle. Tiger was conducting a participant study of the natives, whereas Deanne was a city girl – ethnocentric, naïve, and completely unprepared for the journey she was about to embark on.
In Kivalina, she lived on the edge of two worlds – the one she left behind and the one where she reluctantly participated in all aspects of the women’s lives. Skinning seals, cleaning and drying fish, cutting beluga and caribou to store became her way of life. Plumbing, running water and electricity were not available. Loneliness was a constant companion, although she tried to be accepted by the Inuit women who were suspicious of all white women. Gradually Deanne adapted to living in a culture she knew nothing about.
The midnight sun was followed by relentless darkness and brutal weather. With this came a journey into the unknown. First was a fateful camping trip where they nearly lost their lives, followed six days later by a fire in their house, an event that left Tiger badly burned. During the three months Tiger spent in the hospital, his only wish was to return to Kivalina and finish what he had started.
Despite horrific burns on his face and hands and seared lungs from which he never recuperated, Tiger and Deanne returned to the village to complete the study. Instead of believing in fairy tales and happy endings, Deanne became a woman of strength ready to face the next challenge. Over fifty years later she remembers the young girl who left on an unknown journey. A journey that will live in her heart forever.
Culture Shock Impels Personal Growth for Self-Professed City Girl in Unforgettable True Story
It was frigid that night — 35 below — and Ernest “Tiger” Burch made an honest mistake. He brought the Coleman lantern inside their primitive house before lighting it. In spite of the flames that threatened to engulf Tiger and his young bride, Deanne, the couple made it out safely. Then Tiger ran back inside to save his thesis.
“When you’re young, you don’t think that tragedy is going to strike you at all,” Deanne recalled in a recent interview.
At the tender age of 23, a naïve but very much in love Deanne Burch did what all good wives were expected to do in the 1960s: she put the needs of her husband first. She accompanied Tiger to a remote, Inuit (Inupiaq) village in Kivalina, Alaska, where Tiger was conducting research for his Ph.D. To say that the environment and living conditions were harsh would be a considerable understatement.
In Journey Through Fire and Ice: Shattered Dreams Above the Arctic Circle, Deanne pours her memories onto paper, immortalizing in vivid detail their experiences on the barrier island 83 miles above the Arctic Circle, including the ways in which the Inupiaq people supported the Burches throughout both exhilarating triumphs and agonizing tragedies.
In Kivalina, Deanne lived on the edge of two worlds — the one she left behind in the lower 48 and the one where she reluctantly participated in all aspects of the women’s lives. Skinning seals, cleaning and drying fish, and cutting beluga and caribou to store became her way of life. Plumbing, running water and electricity were not available. Loneliness was a constant companion until a few women befriended her.
During a span of six days, Deanne and Tiger narrowly escaped death during a camping trip, and Tiger suffered severe burns from the fire in their house. He spent three months in the hospital receiving treatment for seared lungs and horrific burns on his face and hands. His lungs never recovered from this ordeal.
When he was finally released from the hospital, he returned to the village with Deanne to complete the study. The life-threatening and harrowing experiences in Alaska transformed Deanne into a woman of strength who learned how to embrace challenge.
Over 50 years later, she remembers that young girl who left on an unknown journey that will live in her heart forever.