Fifty Miles from Tomorrow: A Memoir of Alaska and the Real People

Reader Reviews
Willie Hensley's life story is one of extraordinary range and comprehension, both literally and figuratively. From a childhood lived above the arctic circle, in the "twilight of the stone age" among his Inupiat extended family, through an abrupt transplantation for schooling in eastern Tennessee and then Washington DC, the arc of his life is nearly without parallel in modern America. With powerful imagery and elegant, flowing prose, Willie conveys the essence of life as an Alaska Native in the 20th century as no one has done before. He paints vivid pictures of the magnificent land of northwestern Alaska, the incomparable wisdom, dignity, grace and humor of his Inupiat (Inuit) culture---and then the equally harsh challenges facing his people since Alaska became America: forced assimilation by missionaries and teachers who were both "church and state" in one;and the challenge of sustaining life and culture in harmony with the land and sea and natural resources while also surviving in a "modern" world driven by a cash economy. Willie's life's work -- of seeing that Alaska's Native people retain ownership of ancestral lands while they fight to hold onto a fraying sense of cultural identity and still prosper --is really a tale of universal human challenges. That is what makes this such an important book, for the lessons we can all learn about adaptability and continuity from these First People in our nation of immigrants. Willie's is the only such clear and powerful Native voice to have come from Alaska and find such a wide and receptive audience. For all of our sakes, may there be countless more.


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