Talking To Angels: A Life Spent in High Latitudes [Paperback]

Robert Perkins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 1997

A haunting memoir of three journeysthrough the solitude of mental illness, the unforgiving terrain of the Arctic, and the early death of a beloved wife. "Robert Perkins describes intensely personal experiences . . . yet somehow manages to universalize them with passion and lyricism."Lynn Karpen, THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The "angels" of the title are the fearsome guards in a psychiatric hospital where, at 19, Perkins was confined for a year in 1968. Here, nearly three decades later, he is able to recreate that surreal experience in a miraculous blend of the objective and sensate realities. No less stunning are his accounts of frightening and exhilarating months spent alone on the Arctic tundra, where he lived in a meat locker, and of the anguishing death of his young wife after three months of marriage. But although these three powerful tales might otherwise be depressing, they are rescued by Perkins's sense of the absurd and by a voice, pure and beautiful, that speaks compellingly of fear and bravery, of an intimacy with nature and of love and loss. Perkins, a documentary filmmaker and author (Into the Great Solitude), has produced a small classic on journeys into the human condition.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

A fragile, dolorous triptych of derangement, exploration, and loss from the Arctic-rambling filmmaker Perkins (Into the Great Solitude, 1991, etc.). This memoir starts with the 19-year-old Perkins being packed off, raving, to a psychiatric hospital. His mind is in chaos, and his days at the institution--doped up, surrounded by comrades-in-unbalance, wrapped in wet sheets for being a bad boy- -are like a dream, a really bad dream (the angels of the title are, in part, the none-too-sensitive ward attendants at the hospital). When he manages to tuck in the frayed edges, he heads for an equally unforgiving terrain: the Arctic Northwest Territories of Canada, there to serve as a weather watcher for the region's pilots. His stint completed, he embarks on a long, moseying canoe voyage along far-north riverways, frequently getting out of the water to explore the hinterland, something few Arctic travelers do. Here he finds the setting that will make his reputation as a writer and public-television filmmaker; as much as any outlander can, he stitches himself right into the landscape, at one point communing with a dead musk ox for a few days, emerging with an undistilled reverence for both beast and place. Then the story jumps to the year following his young wife's death of cancer (another of the title's angels, this time truly angelic), as Perkins must once again darn an unraveled sleeve of life. Back in Massachusetts, where his wife had undergone treatment (and also where he had done time in the asylum), Perkins frames a series of quick remembrances of her, capturing the unsettled peace he has made with dark circumstance. Perkins's 46 years have been a long, hard haul, but the guy's an artful survivor, unafraid to face the demons. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press (April 30, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807070793
• ISBN-13: 978-0807070796
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,220,608 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To call this book thought provoking would be unjust., December 7, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Talking to Angels: A Life Spent in High Latitudes (Hardcover)

I ran accross this tome under travel narriatives in my local book store. Little did I know the journey and the distance this work would take me. Mr. Perkins' personal and spiritual travels engulfed me completely as I have felt some of the same emotions with similar experiences. I found myself on the last page some hours later (as I did not put the book down) in tears.

I have read this book upwards of seven times now and still come away with more. I can't put my finger upon just what I come away with but I do come away with more. Feelings, reverence, peace and some odd sort of understanding are all gifts from this tome.

This book is my most prized possession and is read often. A must read.

Now I wish I could get his other books!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Talking to Angels A Life Spent in High Altitudes, July 17, 2000

By 

Donna Simon (Devon, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Talking To Angels: A Life Spent in High Latitudes (Paperback)

I came upon this book by accident while looking for a book for my husband who was dying of cancer. After he read it I asked him 'Should I read it too?' He responded 'After I have died, it might be a good idea.' Now I see what he was referring to. I love this book for several reasons. #1 Because I often think of my husband reading the same words I am reading. #2 I love the way Robert Perkins writes. He is writing about a discovery of ourselves when he writes about his experiences in a mental institution, an Arctic Journey, or the death of his young wife. I guarantee you will want to read this many times as I have done and am doing again.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reading as meditation, August 31, 2001

By 

Matthew J. Lambert "Writer" (River Forest, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Talking to Angels: A Life Spent in High Latitudes (Hardcover)

This spare volume contains three essays; the author's experiences with mental illness and the resultant confinement; his sojourn in the tundra; and the "afterlife" following his wife's death of breast cancer.

Perkins writes with a rhythm and a delicacy that allows you to be part of each of these journeys. Reading this book is a peaceful and moving experience that calls out to be shared with others.

This book is a true gift.