Dreaming Bears
J. Michael Holloway
(Author)
Description
is is the true story of the rare friendship that develops between a young medical student
with deep roots in the South and an elderly Indian couple in the wilds of northeast Alaska. In
1961, Mike Holloway, his brother Ted, and a college friend set out from South Carolina to
spend the summer hiking in arctic Alaska, intending to live o the land. ey end up in the
homeland of the Gwich'in - the northernmost Indians in North America.
e young men charter a small plane into the isolated village of Venetie, and are directed to
the remote cabins of Johnny and Sarah Frank, an elderly Gwich'in couple who lived a thirty-
ve mile walk from the village. Johnny was a well-known storyteller and former medicine man.
Sarah made their home welcoming with warm, calm kindness.
Mike's rich encounters in Gwich'in country deepen his love of wild land and his respect
for those who depend upon it for their survival. experience alters his life. He becomes the
adopted grandson of Johnny and Sarah, returning to Alaska as a doctor and an advocate for
the land and its people.
Product Details
| Publisher | Epicenter Press (WA) |
| Publish Date | May 06, 2014 |
| Pages | 208 |
| Language | English |
| Type |  Paperback / softback |
| EAN/UPC | 9781935347309 |
| Dimensions | 8.9 X 6.0 X 0.6 inches | 0.7 pounds |
About the Author
Mike Holloway was born in Greenwood, South Carolina. Summer trips to rural Alaska in 1961 and 1962 - begun as an adventure - led to his friendship with Johnny and Sarah Frank, and redirected his life.
As an undergraduate, Mike attended The Citadel, where he was a member of the Junior Sword Drill. After completing medical studies in South Carolina and interning in Virginia, he became a doctor with the Peace Corps and then for the Bristol Bay Native hospital in Alaska. He returned to the South to complete a residency in orthopedic surgery. In 1973 he joined the orthopedic staff of the Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC) in Anchorage. In 1977 Mike took a year and a half break from orthopedics and worked as a subsistence advocate and Washington D.C.-village liaison for the Alaska Rural Community Action Program. He then returned to work at ANMC, where he served some years as Chief of Orthopedics and received a number of awards for his service.
In 2001, Mike was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, ending his work at ANMC. Feeling that he still had much to offer, he taught orthopedics through Health Volunteers Overseas (For more information about HVO, click on the link at the top).
Mike is married to Margie Gibson. Their home on a mountain slope near Indian, Alaska is often visited by bears.
Reviews
"Dreaming Bears is Alaska's Dersu Uzala."
--Tom Kizzia, Author of Pilgrim's Wilderness and The Wake of the Unseen Object
"A well-told, straightforward tale that rings absolutely true."
--Sharman Apt Russell, Author of Standing in the Light: My Life as a Pantheist and Hunger: An Unnatural History
"In this wonderful wildness adventure memoir, Holloway recollects his time as first year medical student from South Carolina who decides to embark on what would become a life-changing summer adventure to the backcountry of northern Alaska in 1961. Traveling with his brother and a classmate, they are guided to the isolated camp of an 81-year-old Gwich'in Indian medicine-man named Johnny Frank. They end up spending their trip with the storyteller and his wife, Sarah, hunting and fishing, helping with camp chores, and learning the pleasures and hardships of living off the land. Over years, Holloway returns, developing a deep, meaningful, and life-long relationship with Johnny and Sarah Frank, who come to consider him a grandson. He goes on to practice medicine in Alaska before moving to Washington, D.C. to become a lobbyist who advocates environmental issues and the interests of Alaska's native people. Holloway's memoir is an invigorating tale of high-adventure and sturdy self-reliance. It provides an intimate glimpse into life in the Alaskan wilderness and the lives of the remote Gwich'in people. Moreover, it preserves a collection of the stories, memories, and mythology from a Gwich'in elder that might otherwise have been lost with his passing. 24 b&w photos."
--Publisher's Weekly Starred Review (May)
"This book provides a vivid accounting of life in Gwich'in country from the 1960s to the 1990s, and respectfully presents Native traditions and storytelling. By experiencing the Franks and their lifestyle through Holloway's eyes, the reader gains a true sense of the place, the people, and their way of life.... This is a well-written account of a period in Alaska's history that no longer exists. A time when Gwich'in were still living on the land, making skin covered canoes, suffering hardship and shortages as well celebrating plenty. It is an important documentation of history, but also shows us how much we can learn from each other as human beings, no matter our cultures or our ages.... While other work has been done with Johnny and Sarah Frank... this book is a unique contribution to the existing knowledge.... None of the previous works are as fresh and personal as Dreaming Bears"
--Karen Brewster, Fairbanks, Alaska History Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 1
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