Customer Reviews

Alone in My Kayak

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ALONE IN MY KAYAK recounts the life of Paul Patkotak, one of the first Alaska Eskimos to covert to Christianity. Written from stories told by Patkotak himself before he passed on to his reward and from stories recounted by his children, this is an excellent account of the tribulations of a Christian essentially alone in the culture of his birth. The book gives a remarkable view of the Alaska native culture, often in Patkotak's own words, and demonstrates the dichotomy between animism, based in fear, and Christianity, based in God's grace and love.

Ms. Rodli's decades in the mission field in Northern Alaska and Greenland have clearly given her first-hand knowledge of the peoples and problems of the Northern cultures. It's refreshing to hear from someone who has "been there" instead of someone who judges based on the way he/she thinks it should be.

When a native teacher's aide handed me Alone in My Kayak one day after school, I accepted it gladly, expecting to learn more about native culture here in the Alaskan bush. What I didn't expect was account after account of North country miracles, genuine, unquestionable examples of God responding to the deep love and faith of one of His Children, a full-blood Eskimo named Patkotak. This book earned a place of honor on my bookshelf. Patkotak will remain an inspiration and I'll delight in sharing his stories of miracles in the Far North. A quick example: prayer opens a 70+ mile long lead (open water crack in pack ice) from where a hunting party was trapped by unusually early ice to their village and the lead is exactly wide enough for the umiak and remains open until they reach home!

As a new kayak enthusiast I bought this book thinking it would be a thoughtful and insightful study of kayak touring. However, it turned out to be the account of an Eskimo's conversion and subsequent missionary work upon becoming a "born again" christian. For those looking for a story of faith and devotion within the Christian religion, particularly of the missionary and evangelic sort this would be fine. However, it has nothing to do with kayaking and has a very western stilted view of northern native culture and lifestyle.