Customer Reviews

Outside Passage:: A Memoir of an Alaskan Childhood

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What really affected me reading this book is this cold shattered childhood with restraint feelings and emotions which resembles the places where she grew and moved. I didn't feel any warmth, the severe cold of Alaska spread all over the novel even when she found stability for a short period of her childhood.

Life is an open never ending experience with its ups and downs, and this is what the story is all about. Each person has his own story to tell, but what made this one different is that you actually grow with Julia, from the little girl's point of view, seeing the world through her eyes, reading her own words, to the teenage girl who tries to find answers, who expresses her wonder of certain people and behaviors, and then the woman, you sense her growth, her helplessness and her quest to understand life.

A terse, elegantly written account of childhood in California and then Alaska in the 1930's and 1940's. The reader can visualize, hear, taste, and smell the environment in each scene.
My only complaint is that the book left me with a somewhat unsatisfied feeling when it was over, like a film with beautiful
cinematography and fine acting, but no passion or climax. That the author is a distinguished photographer is no surprise--the understated yet precise images, the richness of the background detail, and the masterful use of perspective (voice in writing) are worthy of a fine photograph.
Also, the final three paragraphs seem to be an artificial "ending" grafted onto the work at the suggestion of
an unimaginative editor.
Otherwise, the time spent reading this deeply felt and wonderfully re-created childhood memoir is time well spent.
Those who like this book might want to also read a very different but equally fine childhood memoir called A PLACE IN EL PASO by Gloria Lopez-Stafford, dealing with growing up in the
El Paso/Juarez area during the same period of late 1930's/early 1940's.

Being as I'm from Alaska I really wanted to read this book. I found the descriptions of Alaska to be memorizing. I had never heard of my state described in such a way as to make me long for home. Scully is an amazing writer. This book not only has depth but heart. A wonderful story!

I think that this book shows how hard it is to grow up in these conditions as a young child and teen. I think that Julia showed a great deal of courage even though she was the youngest. It's hard enogh to get through life without having the burden of moving a lot and going through numerous situations where her strengh was tested. I really enjoyed the book and would like to see her write another. I've read it once and I think I'll read it again. :)

As a single mother raising two kids alone, I really appreciated Ms. Scully's story. The separations and reunions, the small, isolated family unit that survived despite the odds, and an ending that gives you hope that success is possible no mattter what your background.

I had a hard time putting this book down. I don't know if the author plans to continue this memoir by writing another one or not--but I hope so. I got great visualizations when she giving descriptions of the places she has been; that is powerful if written words can do that.

More than just a travelogue of Alaska, the author lets you relive her multilayered childhood. I went on vacation before finishing it, and forgot to take it with me. I couldn't wait to get home and finish the book.

This was such a good book. I loved it. I think that it shows such soul and courage from this little girls "journey". It pulled me in and I couldn't put it down!!! Julia Scully is such a brilliant author and just wait,. . . she'll be in the big business !! It was interesting to read about Alaska that I hadn't known before. It was so well written.!!!!I'm telling all my friends!!

This was a quick read and I really enjoyed it. It is, among other things, a story of neglect, of a mother whose focus seems slightly off. She seems to care for her daughters, but distantly. The daughters are moved around from place to place, spending time in children's homes in California and Seattle, before bouncing around Alaska. Though their mother always provides food and lodging, they must fend for themselves emotionally and socially.

I left the book curious about what happens next. There is, of course, a brief synopsis of the author's life -- where she went to school, what she does for a living, where she is now, etc. -- but I wonder the path that took her from Alaska to Manhattan. What a shock that must have been.

I was really taken with this book. It is a really good read about the resilience of a girl growing up in very difficult circumstances. But, unlike some books of this kind, it is not sad. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend. It would make a great book club selection for discussion. After reading the book, I searched for the author online and found some additional interesting information about her. This book is out of her field. It seems she has mostly been involved in photography.